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Memories 

of 

Brown 




The Clock Tower 

Erected by Count Paul Bajnotti of Turin. Italy, in Memory of his Wife, 

Carrie Mathilda Brown 



MEMORIES 

OF 

BROWN 

TRADITIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS 

GATHERED 

FROM MANY SOURCES 



EDITORS 

ROBERT PERKINS BROWN, 1871 

HENRY ROBINSON PALMER, 1890 

HARRY LYMAN JCOOPMAN, Librarian 

CLARENCE SAUNDERS BRIGHAM, 1899 



PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND 
BROWN ALUMNI MAGAZINE COMPANY 

1909 



A 






LIBRARY af CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Received 

FEB 26 1^09 

Copyriitnt Entry 

CLASS <=- XXc. No, 

COPY B. 



Copyright, 1909 

By the 

Brown Alumni Magazine Company 



1 : 




iJ : 


I'KINTINQ 


O : 


COMCANY 


3 ■■ 


. CKOVIC 



t? 



CONTENT S 

Commencement in the Olden Time " Old Citizen " /// Providence 
Journal., July 2, 18^1 . ...... 

Life at Rhode Island College in the Eighteenth Century T. F. 
Gree7i .......... 

Exhibitions in the Old Town House Providence Journal, July i, 18^1 
College and Town in 1819 . . . . S. B. Shaw 

Horace Mann, 18 19 I. M. Barton 

Samuel Gridley Howe, 182 1 . . Mrs. Laura E. Richards 

College Pranks in the Early Twenties . . G. B. Peck 

High Old Times at Commencement in 1827 Literary Cadet, Sept. 

8, 182/ .... 

Essay Burning in 183 1 

The " Tallow Candle Illumination " 

Memories of 1832-36 ..... 

In the Days of Wayland and Elton 
The Cloistered Life of the Early Forties 
George William Curtis's Memories of Brown 
In College with " Sunset " Cox . 
When President Angell was a Student. 
Riding a Professor " Pickaback " 
Dr. Boardman's Recollections of President Wayland G. D. Board- 
man .......... 

President Magill's Memories of Brown 

Student Pranks in the Fifties 

A Flagrant Failing .... 

Painting the President's Horse . 

The Story of Dr. Wayland 's Cow 

Garbs and Customs of Half a Century Ago 

The Faculty in the Fifties . 

More About the Faculty in the Fifties . 

Junior Burials, 1853-59 

The College Water Supply in the Fifties 

John Hay as a Parodist of Emerson , 



?f 



Mrs. Susan B. Ely 

J. P. Dunwell 

W. L. Brown 

C. T. Congdon 

Albert LLa?'kjiess 

G. W. Curtis 

J. B. Angell 
W. B. Weeden 



E. H. Magill 
W. S. Granger 
W. H. Pabodie 

J. L. Denison 
W. If. Stewart 

E. H. Cutler 

Samuel Thurber 
S. W. Abbott 
S. W. Abbott 
S. W. Abbott 



35 
38 
41 

43 
46 

49 

53 
55 
57 
61 

68 
69 
77 
83 
93 

94 
96 
102 
107 
108 
III 

i^ 
117 
121 
125 

135 



Memories of Brown 



A " Smoking-Out " in 1856 . 

The Duel — In Three Chapters 

John Hay, 1858 . 

President Wayland as Seen by His Nephew 

Brown at the Close of the Fifties 

The Angell Cradle . . . 

An Initiation into the " Phils " 

The Philermenians and the United Brothers 

The College During the Civil War 

The Origin of " Alma Mater " . 

Random Recollections of 1861 . 

Memories Light and Tender 

A Class Expelled .... 

The Passing of the Ancient Well- Curb 

In Brown's Centennial Year 

The Old Textbook Burials 

The Faculty in the Sixties . 

More About the Faculty in the Sixties 

The Beginnings of Baseball at Brown 

The Hollow Square . 

The Tale of the Bonnet 

The Water Procession 

In the Days of Seventy 

The Old College Well 

The Barker Hoax and a Visit from Two 

Brown 
The Great American Traveller 
Two Bancroft Stories . 
The Glorious Class of 1871 . 
Boating at Brown 
Three Immortals 



A. H. Nelson 

A. H. Nelson 

W. L. Stone 

W. L. Stone 

W. W. Keen 

IV. W. Keen 

T. W. Bicknell 

H. S. Burrage 

H. S. Burrage 

J. A. De Wolf 

A. M. Eaton 
IV. W. Hoppin 

J. H. Stiness 

B. F. Clarke 
W. W. Bailey 
W. W. Bailey 

G. B. Peck 

John Tetlow 

IV. B. Perce 

IV. P. Perce 

W. P. Perce 

P. B. Metcalf 

W. H. Munro 

P. P. Brown 

Great Generals P. P. 



P. P. Brown 
P. B. Comstock and P. P. Brown 
P. P. Brown 
G. T. Brown 
W. E. Foster 



President Wheeler's First Impressions of Brown B. I. Wheeler 



PAGE 

140 
151 

160 

165 
168 
170 
17s 
185 
187 
190 
194 
200 
202 
207 
209 
221 
232 

235 
237 
245 
248 
256 

259 
261 

263 

265 

272 

285 
292 



Memories of Brown 



When Dr. Robinson Came to Brown . . R. B. Comstock 

President Robinson on the Rush Line , W. C. Jos/in 

President Robinson and the Valedictorian of Seventy-seven 

W. L. Micnro . 



Anthony McCabe 

C. H. Pendleton 

W. r. Bartlett 

W. L. Munro 

W. L. Munro 

E. S. Marsh 

W. H. P. Faunce 

IV. If. P. Faunce 

J. L. Richmond 

Anthony McCabe 

I. B. Burgess 



The College Buildings in Other Days 

Brilliant Seventy-eight . 

Marrying before Graduation 

Devolution of the Bonfire . 

Dimanesque 

Seventy-nine's Page of History 

Reminiscences by President Faunce 

The Romance Department under Gates 

Beating Harvard and Yale in Seventy-nine 

Campus Events in the Eighties . 

President Robinson's Terse Philosophy 

Classroom Memories H. P. Manning, W. M. P. Bowen, R. H. 

Ferguson, O. F. RaJidail, R. K. Wickett, J. A. Williams 
The Bogus Elective Card .... C. R. Upton 

Confessions of a Salutatorian ... F. M. Bronson 

How Eighty-four Worried a Professor . . H. R. Palmer 

" Something Doing " in the Eighties . . A. C. Barrows 

Anecdotes of the Faculty in Dr. Robinson's Time Anthony McCabe 

Bell and Bonfire A. T. Swift 

Rushes, Fires and Signs .... J. B. Greene 

Brown in the Later Eighties ... H. R. Palmer 

The Football Rush . . . . . J. A. Williams 

Hope College Twenty Years Ago . . F. G. Dexter 

A Conflict of Jurisdictions . . . . H. L. Thompson 

A Fight with the Firemen in 1899 ...... 

Recollections of a "Super" . . . W. F. Greene 

President Andrews : as Seen by the Brown Men of His Time 

William McDonald ........ 



PAGE 

301 
304 

306 

307 
335 
339 
341 
348 
350 
356 
360 
361 
366 
385 

390 
397 
401 
404 
406 
409 
420 
424 

430 
437 
440 

444 
446 

454 
463 




Brown Univerrity in 1858 

From Dr. William A. Mowry's " Recollections of a New England Educator, 

published by Silver, Burdett & Co. 



PROLOGUE 

THIS book had its genesis several years ago, when 
a committee, at the suggestion of President 
Faunce and under the chairmanship of Professor 
Bronson, began the collection of reminiscences from the 
graduates of Brown. To Mr. Howard A. Cofifin of the 
class of 1 901 acknowledgment is due for special enthusiasm 
in the work, while each of the other members of the com- 
mittee, including the writer, contributed some thought 
and labor, the result of which was the assemblage of a 
considerable number of interesting manuscripts. How- 
ever, the book was not pushed through to publication, and 
the movement lagged until 1908, when the Brown Alumni 
Magazine Company, the publishers of the Brown Alumni 
Monthly, determined to assume the responsibility for it. 
Meanwhile, Mr. Anthony McCabe had for some years 
been engaged in writing down his own memories of the 
life of the college and collecting manuscripts from mxany 
graduates, with the idea of embodying them in some such 
volume as this. Mr. McCabe had served the university 
and the Rhode Island Historical Society for nearly or 
quite a generation, and, although not a Brown man him- 
self, had become so identified with the college as to 
acquire an intimate knowledge of its history and tradi- 
tions. He generously contributed the various reminis- 
cences in his possession, including his own, to the editors 
of the present volume, who cordially acknowledge his as- 
sistance in their task, and believe that a peculiar interest 
will attach to his point of view as that of a former mem- 
ber of the president's secretarial and steward's constabu- 
larv forces. 



Memories of Brown 



To the mass of material thus provided, large additions 
have been made from a variety of sources. Alumni, 
old periodicals and, in one conspicuous instance, ancient 
letters hitherto unpublished have been drawn upon. It 
has also been necessary to excise and modify at many 
points for the sake of producing a symmetrical whole and 
at the same time conforming to the limits arbitrarily im- 
posed upon the enterprise. If in this amendatory process 
matter as valuable and interesting as any that appears has 
been sacrificed, the editors can answer only that they 
have had to be guided by divers reasons not always ap- 
parent to the individual writer. 

Even so, they may be charged with too liberal an inclu- 
siveness at certain points. Here again they must plead 
their own best judgment. They have, at any rate, known 
no other purpose than to produce a volume that will 
nourish the love of Brown graduates everywhere for 
the old college on the hill. They have desired to pre- 
serve, while it was still possible, recollections that could 
not be gathered a few years hence, and, by giving these 
body upon the printed page, to re-establish the van- 
ished past and create in the contemporary mind a fuller 
consciousness of the continuity of Brunonian tradition 
and aspiration. 

If the book awakens other memories of Brown, pun- 
gent, grateful and tender, if it renews among its readers 
a ready devotion to Alma Mater, — those whose names ap- 
pear upon its title-page, and whose own loyalty has been 
quickened by the story it tells, will count themselves for- 
tunate indeed. 

H. R. P. 



Commencement in the Olden Time 

The College about 1800 



COMMENCEMENT formerly was the Festival of 
Providence. Soldiers and boys had their " artil- 
lery election," in April, and " general muster " in 
the autumn; Episcopalians had their Christ- 
mas holidays; Baptists had their annual association as 
from year to year appointed; Congregationalists fasted 
and feasted according to the laws of the Old Bay State, 
where they came from, and Quakers had their quarterly 
meetings every second month ; but everybody had com- 
mencement. It is true, that the Baptists were inclined 
to hold their heads a little the highest, because one of 
their number wore a cocked hat on this occasion, but 
they did not dare to strut it much, lest they should injure 
the college. Yes, everybody had commencement day. 
Distinctions in politics and religion were then laid aside. 
All faces wore smiles during the whole week, commenc- 
ing with Monday morning, and to that end "washing 
day" was generally postponed till into the next week. 
It was the season when country cousins returned all the 
calls and visits which they had received the past year. 
It was the time appointed for the adjustment and settle- 
ment of claims of this nature. " You will come and see 
us at commencement " was the stereotyped invitation left 
with the said country cousins, when honored with visits 
from their Providence friends, no matter at what season 
of the year. And sure enough, they did come. The 
town was filled Vv^ith strangers. Mind you, there was no 
such a thing as a steamboat or a railroad in those days. 



10 Memories of Brown 

Public stages were not what they have been since. The 
main one from Boston would carry uncomfortably six 
inside, and, upon sufficient notice, say a day or two, an 
"extra" equally roomy could be had. As long ago as I 
can recollect, Captain Gardner sailed a packet to New- 
port, wind and weather permitting, as often as twice a 
week. The principal mode of conveyance was the square- 
top chaise, long since discarded for the bellows-top chaise 
and other carriages. They would begin to arrive on 
Monday, but on Tuesday towards sunset every avenue to 
the town was filled with them. In the stable yards of the 
"Golden Ball Inn," the " Montgomery Tavern " and other 
public houses, on Wednesday morning, you could see 
hundreds of them, each numbered by the hostlers on the 
dashers with chalk, to prevent mistakes. Passing along 
the streets, what smiling faces greet you at every corner, 
what a shaking of hands, how full of joy is the town ; the 
old have forgotten their years, the sick their infirmities, 
the poor their poverty and the rich their plagues. 

The literary exercises of commencement season begin 
on Tuesday. The graduating class, on Monday and 
Tuesday, are engaged in rehearsing in the Old Baptist 
before the college officers, and receiving the last touch of 
the graces which they are to exhibit on Wednesday. 
The society of undergraduates, who celebrate their 
anniversary on Tuesday, are obliged from this circum- 
stance to go to the Congregational meeting-house. The 
exercises consisted then, as now, of an oration and a 
poem identical in name with the exercises now, and 
nearly so in substance. The orator and poet then were 
selected from recent graduates of the college, neither 
boys nor men, but just in a transition state, between 
students and men. 

How long the twilight of Tuesday used to appear. The 



Memories of Brown 1 1 

sun seemed to delay his going down as long as possible, 
and when his face was below the horizon, still would he 
send forth his light to sicken youthful hearts with hope 
deferred. The town was on tiptoe to witness the illumi- 
nation of the college building this evening. It was a 
busy day at the college. There was the society's celebra- 
tion to attend, after which each student had to adjust the 
candles at his windows for the illumination. In the 
course of the day a large box is raised opposite the round 
window in the pediment, the outside or front of which is 
covered with a thick dark curtain. Scarcely is the sun 
down before the human current begins to set toward the 
college from all quarters. Before it is fairly dark the 
college yard is filled with ladies and gentlemen of all ages 
and sizes. Not a light is to be seen at the college win- 
dows. Anon the college bell rings and eight tallow can- 
dles at each window shed their rich luxuriant yellow light 
on the crowd below. The curtain rises from the box at 
the pediment, and there emblazoned in light is our na- 
tional emblem, the spread-eagle, talking Latin to this 
same crowd. In later times, the eagle gave place to " the 
temple of science." Loud was the cheering and long did 
it continue, even until several taps on a bass drum inti- 
mated the presence of the band of music which the grad- 
uating class had hired to discourse music on commence- 
ment day. The band arrange themselves on the front 
steps of the old chapel, and make the welkin ring again, 
with Washington's March, Hail Columbia and other 
appropriate tunes. At a given signal from the college 
bell, the music ceases, the lights are simultaneously extin- 
guished, and the spectators and auditors left in darkness 
that could almost be felt to find their homes. 

This was the opening scene of commencement, not 
very scientific or literary, it is true, but it led to both 
science and literature, as it excited an interest in the 




X 



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U o! 

S H 

Oh S 



Oh 



Memories of Brown 



public in favor of the college, which was the fountain of 
both in this community. All could not " go to college," 
all could not talk Latin, or make almanacs, but all could 
see an illumination and could hear music. Those who 
could do no more were fully satisfied with the college for 
these benefits and advantages, and, as they had some, they 
felt less disposition to envy those who had more advan- 
tages from it. 

How many heads press wakeful pillows, that night in 
Providence ! Too much hope, too much fear and too much 
joy, each had its sleepless victims. Day breaks at last 
and the rising sun is saluted by two of the brass field- 
pieces which Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga. An 
old revolutionary drummer and iifer are playing the re- 
veille through the principal streets of the town. This 
happens on the years when the United Train of Artillery 
does escort duty to the literati to and from the meeting- 
house. The " Independent " companies did this duty by 
turns. Every year some company appeared in full uni- 
form, armed and equipped as the law directed. It was an 
integral part of commencement, without which it would 
have been as imperfect as the president without a cocked 
hat. The boys can scarcely be stayed for their breakfasts. 
Their imaginations are too much excited to leave any 
appetite for ordinary food, although on the Great Bridge 
booths were erected, where could be found such New 
England dainties as doughnuts, three-cornered mince 
pies and lemonade. 

Before nine o'clock commencement morning the current 
is again setting towards the college. The great gate has 
been thrown wide open ; the turnstile would not afford 
space enough for those who are now going to pay their 
morning devoirs to Alma Mater. The graduates and 



1 4 Memories of Brown 

" strangers " not " of distinction " are gathered in little 
knots in the yard waiting the forming of "the proces- 
sion." Occasionally one of the graduating class may be 
seen stepping daintily across the yard, his dress the wide- 
flowing black silk gown, with shorts, that only article of 
gentleman's dress which modern ladies have not literally 
appropriated to their own use as well as metaphorically. 
The trustees and fellows of the college are convening in 
the chapel. The " fellows " are not the Odd Fellows of 
the present day, but a " learned faculty," constituted such 
by the charter of the college. The military escort has 
halted without the gate. The procession is formed , now 
as it was in former times, excepting only the escort. They 
proceed down College street, up Main street and Presi- 
dent street and enter the Old Baptist at the south door. 

The trustees and fellows, that " learned faculty," occupy 
a stage on the north side of the pulpit, the graduating 
class one on the south side, while in front is that on 
which the speakers are to appear. The band of music 
are in the west gallery, where the organ now is. Just 
before the times that I now speak of, the Baptists had,, 
after much heart-burning, introduced singing into public 
worship. There they had stopped with the rest of the 
Puritans. The sound of an organ or even a bass-viol 
within a Baptist meeting-house then would have cleared 
it of people as quick as the cry of fire from without. But 
at commencement, these narrow prejudices, as Episco- 
palians viewed them, gave way to the good of the college, 
and the whole band played, and livelier tunes, too, than 
Old Hundred or Martyrs. The president then made an 
extempore prayer, prepared for the occasion. The 
best scholars in the graduating class then "spoke their 
pieces." The first in order was the second in standing in 
his class. He opened the "speaking" by salutatory ad- 



M 



emories o 



o/B 



rown 



15 



dresses in Latin to the audience, the officers, the " learned 
faculty," his classmates, he turning to each in succession 
as the sheriff used to turn round men in the pillory. 
After him others of the class " spoke," some in prose and 
some in poetry, and some in both until about twelve 
o'clock, when the procession again formed and returned 




President's House and University Hall 
From an old engraving 

to college for dinner. The same order was preserved as 
in their downward progress in the morning, being what 
military men call left in front. First were the under- 
graduates, then the graduating class, then the graduates 
according to age and honor, then the trustees and 
" learned faculty," and the president. 



They changed front at the dining-hall door. From this 
the undergraduates were excluded. The hall was gener- 
ally well filled in a very short space of time, each old 



' 6 Memories of Brown 

graduate well prepared to keep down the interest on the 
four dollars he invested in the commencement dinner 
fund when he was in college. There used to be wine, 
too, on the tables, and doctors in divinity, after the un- 
usual labors of the morning, deemed it not improper to 
indulge in one glass, and in at least one more, to enable 
them to undergo the fatigues and pleasures of the after- 
noon. We generally had " short commons " on this 
occasion, not in food, quantity or quality, but in time, as 
the undergraduates were waiting to take our places. Not 
a word is uttered at the table, except " the grace," and 
" the thanks ; " each seems ambitious to show forth his 
faith by his works. The graduates, trustees, etc., wait in 
the chapel while the undergraduates swallow what they 
have left on the dinner tables, then the procession is 
again formed as before, and again to the meeting-house. 
The rest of the class now speak " their pieces," occupying 
two or three hours ; the president then confers on them 
the degree of bachelor of arts, because they have paid 
their bills, and been under the tuition of the tutors, pro- 
fessors and president for four years. Then the other 
degrees were conferred as now, it being understood that 
the president, in this part of the performances, is but the 
mouth-piece of the " learned faculty " aforesaid, who by 
law are the fountain of literary honor in this state. After 
this the best scholar in the graduating class " delivers the 
valedictory " to the audience, officers, classmates, etc., in 
turn, as the salutatorian did in the morning. 

Again the procession is formed and proceeds to the 
college, and thus ends commencement proper. During 
the day, forenoon and afternoon, the Old Baptist is 
crowded with people, and redolent with beauty. To 
say that it was full would not convey any adequate idea ; 
" It was good measure, pressed down and shaken together 
and running over." During the exercises, every bright 



Memories of Brown 1 7 

thought and well-turned period called forth long and 
loud plaudits, as well from those that heard as from those 
who could not. 

On the evening of commencement day, the Old Baptist 
was open for a religious meeting. As the chandelier was 




James Manning, D. D. 
First President of Rhode Island College, 1765-91 

always lighted on these occasions, the house was gener- 
ally well filled, and the audience well enlightened. 

Many an aching head longs for its pillow commencement 
night. The heat, the fatigue, the great number of new 
faces and new things, seen and heard, to say nothing of 
the dinner, sufhciently account for this. But aching 
hearts are few compared with aching heads. We arose 



Memories of Brown 



on Thursday morning resolved to be cured by a repeti- 
tion of a similar round of literary excess. At ten o'clock, 
" The Federal Adelphi " met at college to elect their 
officers, and then to go in procession to some meeting- 
house, and hear an oration from some old graduate. 
This society was supposed to consist of the most tal- 
ented, as well as the most wealthy, children of Alma 
Mater. Associated under their half-English name, deco- 
rated with blue ribbons, and no silver medals, professing 
mysterious rites of initiation and advantages unutterable 
to the initiated, and always meeting the day after com- 
mencement and having a good dinner, if not a good 
oration, and good wine in plenty, the society was a very 
popular one. They generally finished their literary re- 
past, and the necessary labors of the society, by two 
o'clock in the afternoon, and then sat down to dinner 
with clearer heads than they could boast of when that 
ceremony was over. Over their dessert, old stories were 
repeated and old jokes. There were no extempore 
speeches from members called out by the president upon 
some sudden emergency, copies of which they hand to 
news reporters as soon as they sit down. There were no 
returns read of the dead, wounded and missing members, 
but as occasionally the name of a departed one was an- 
nounced, the company would rise in silence, and honor 
his memory. 

Thus closed the literary exercises of commencement. 
Three days of literary feasting are enongh to ruin a man's 
mental organization, and produce a mental dyspepsia. 

Strangers began to leave town on Thursday. Many 
remained to partake of the Federal Adelphi celebration, 
and leave Thursday afternoon ; but by Friday noon the 
crowds are gone from the streets, and the wonted serenity 
is restored. There remains the fever flush of commence- 
ment pleasures on many a cheek for some days later, and 



Memories of Brown 19 

Providence cannot be said to be completely herself again, 
until after a Sabbath's rest. 

This is an imperfect, very imperfect, sketch of an old 
commencement. If any prefer it to a modern one, they 




Jonathan Maxcy, D. D., 1787 
Second President of the College, 1797-1802 

will mourn with me over its ashes, try to recall its pleas- 
ures and revel in the recollection of its joys. If any 
prefer it not, they can enjoy the coming scenes, and I 
shall not envy them. 

""Old Citizen" in Providence Journal, July 2, 18^1. 



20 Memories of Brown 

Life at Rhode Island College 

in the Eighteenth Century 



THE memories of Brown which follow cannot be 
designated exactly as those of the writer. They 
are, however, the memories of the writer's fore- 
fathers, and where family relationship to an in 
stitution has been so long and continuous as that of the 
writer's family to Brown University, tradition is almost 
as reliable as memory. Fortunately in this case tra- 
dition is fortified by much corroborative documentary 
evidence. From the existing mass of family papers into 
which the writer has at times delved there is much con- 
cerning the history of the college from the time of its 
very beginning, and sometimes when certain papers have 
seemed to be of more than personal or temporary interest 
he has laid them aside with the hazy idea that they might 
some day prove useful in helping to give to later genera- 
tions a lively picture of earlier times. From the material 
so laid aside a few items have now been selected to offer 
some glimpses into student life at the college more than 
a century ago. They are selected with the frankly avowed 
purpose of showing that while that life was real it was not 
always earnest, that the student of that time differed but 
little from the student of to-day and that the pale blue sky 
of plain living and high thinking, which those who have 
pictured that life have almost always chosen for their 
background, was sometimes overcast and murky. Other 
selections might have been made which would have given 
other impressions. There are many letters from fathers 



M 



em ones 



ofB 



rown 



21 



or elder brothers full of good advice, and replies from 
undergraduates full of high resolve — letters which might 
even now kindle a smouldering desire for the better things 
of life. There are letters from earlier presidents, ofificers 
of the college and others, which show their worries, finan- 




Rev. William Rogers, 1769 
The first undergraduate of Rhode Island College. From original in posses- 
sion of his Great-Great-Grandnephew, Theodore F. Green 



cial and educational. The space available however, will 
permit the printing of only a few letters showing either 
characteristic phases or picturesque incidents of stu- 
dent life at the close of the eighteenth century. 



22 



Memories of Brown 



A glimpse of the social life of the college in 1795 is of- 
fered by this communication from Timothy Green to his 
younger brother, William E. Green, then an undergrad- 
uate : 



" I do not approve of your associating with the Miss 
B s or any young girls but under the special Instruc- 
tion of your sisters & myself. I did not like the situation 
in life of the Ladies I saw at your room, I seldom had 
any that was not first in the place I resided in." 

The following letter 
is especially interesting 
because it refers to Tris- 
tam Burges, and shows 
how early he was held in 
high esteem. It is dated 
April II, 1796, and is 
from William E. Green 
at college to his brother, 
Dr. John Green, Jr. 

" Dear Brother 

". . . (Hearing of a 
vacancy in a school, he 
suggests as instructor 
one " worthy of your 
most candid atten- 
tion.") He is a person 
who maintains an un- 
blemished character in 

this place & a very exalted one as to literary abilities. 
He can come well recommended in every particular. 
He proposes to study law in Worcester with Judge 
Lincoln & as he is not any acquainted there he would 




Tristam Burges, 1796 



Memories of Brown 23 

wish to form some reputable connections such as his 
distinguished reputation & his abiUties will recommend 
him to. ... He is a person who has kept school con- 
siderable & understands the business perfectly well. 
. . , The gentleman whom I have endeavored to recom- 
mend to you is a Mr. (Tristam) Burges a member of the 
senior class ; from Rochester in the county of Plymouth 
a gentleman about 25 years of age. 

" Your exertions in this case will be received with the 
greatest acknowledgment by your affectionate brother, 

"Wm. Green." 

" N. B. You will be pleased to answer immediately as 
he is to answer another gentleman immediately after he 
receives yours." 

Andrew Dexter, Jr., at college writes, August 6, 1796, to 
his classmate, William E. Green, Worcester, as follows : 

" Dear Chum — 

"... I am at present, as you imagine, sole occupant 
of the blue room ; but I hope soon to share my Lordship 
with his honour Esq. Nichols. The old brick is to be 
newrigged, so that I hope we shall be able to weather the 
storms of the ensuing season without shipping any more 
seas. We are at present studying and shall be examined 
on Watts Logic, and the first volume of Kames Criticism 
omitting the chapter on beauty. The latter we have been 
half through the second time. The former we have been 
through just three times having omitted in Part ist the 7 
Sec. of Chap. 6 ; in Part 2nd the 3 & 4 Sees, of Chap. 2 ; 
in the same part all Chap. 5th ; in Part 3 the 4 & 5th Sec. 
of Chap. 2 ; and we shall not be examined on the 2nd 
Chapter of Part 4. . . . Wood has returned but I do 



24 Memories of B 



rown 



not know how he stands with the authority, he has not as 
yet recited nor does he attend prayers. There have been 
no Rustees (sic) out yet by our class or any other by a 
description of which you can be entertained. By God 
Esq. Nichols has gone home. J. Sneak, Uncle Toby, 
Uncle Webb, My Lord, the Corporal and in fine Sango 
Boo, with all others who are renowned and honoured by 
such high sounding names are well and hearty. . . ." 

This letter is from J. Tallmadge, at college, to his class- 
mate, William E. Green, under date of January 31, 1797 : 

" Dear & Respected Phronesian Brother 
AND Classmate 

". . . As soon as the vacation commenced every 
student eloped from this adoreable Parnassian seat except 
Allen M. and myself. Thus you will readily imagine the 
almost supreme happiness which we have experienced. 
The doleful toling of that loathsome bell no more assails 
our ears and reluctantly drags us from the sweet embraces 
of our adoreable God Morpheus. No longer are my 
natural slumbers interrupted with secret machinations 
how to quell the growing pride and power of the haughty 
seniors. All such strifes and contentions are done away. 
I reign here like a powerful monarch; no one to oppose 
me (and alas no one to obey me) . . . 

" I have the honour of subscribing myself your Phrone- 
sian Brother and Classmate." 

On September 30, 1797, Colonel John Whipple, Provi- 
dence, wrote to William E. Green at Worcester : 

" My young Friend 

" This Day Mr. Maxcy has advertised in the Provi- 
dence Gazet of his determination to postpone the meet- 



Memories of Brown 25 

ing or coming in of the Scholars of the Coledge untill 
further notice in said paper when he may think it saf 
and I think you may expect a long vacation as he has re- 
moved to the Comeden (?) and is truly under Peticoat 
Government. 

" adieu 

"Your&c. 

"John Whipple." 

" My Recpts & Mrs. Whipple's to the Good Family." . . . 

To his classmate, William E. Green, at Worcester, J. 
Tallmadge, at college, writes March 2, 1798 : 

" Esteemed Friend: — 

" Being blest with a few moments leisure as I have 
just finished my composition, I have concluded to in- 
trude upon you with a letter. I hope you may happen 
to be at leisure when this arrives that your ever easy dis- 
position may not be irritated with the trouble of reading 
of it. I should not have wrote to you but having learned 
yourself and friends were sick I fear you will not be with 
us yet in some time : and as it is essential to our future 
success when we shall be obliged to combat the class to 
keep in store all things which are transacted, I have 
thought proper according to the Indian mode to entrust 
something to your memory. 

" The present you well know is an interesting and truly 
important era in our Collegiate career. It is an era "big 
with fate." It is an era in which our future peace happi- 
ness and welfare depends. I allude to that important 
crysis in which we are to listen to the irrevocable mandate 
of fate ; In which our future destiny is to be pronounced, 
and upon which our future existence almost depends, I 
mean the allotment of our parts for Commencement. 
Scarcely do I ever reflect upon the near approach of that 



26 Memories of Brown 

interesting and important hour but " big round drops in 
pitious chace " roll from my eyes. But I am not the only 
son whose rest is disturbed, and whose tranquility of mind 
is interrupted by the contemplation of that fatal morning 
in which our parts are to be pronounced. And though 
your mind is probably amused with the gaiety and vivacity 
of Worcester ladies I dare presume you are disturbed by 
the same melancholy thoughts which at present occupy 
my mind. Anxious for advancement our class appear 
like a drove of deacons. All are attentive to their books, 
all are anxious to gain favour. If one of the authority 
walk in the odoriferous Grubstreet, the seniours all pre- 
pare to meet them that they may shew respect by bowing 
with profound adoration. No art remains untryed to ob- 
tain favour — enough — Webb's exhibition piece is proved 
to be stollen from St. Pierres Shidies of Nature and 
Gary's Poem on chance consisting of 150 lines is found in 
Blackmore on Creation 90 lines verbatim, Thomson is so 
proud that he did not steal his that by the request of the 
Freshmen and Sophomores it is put to the press and will 
be out tomorrow, Mr. Garter affords them at 2 cents each. 
I hope therefore there will not be so much grass pulled 
up this summer for — fodder. 

" I am sorry to inform you that Gorporal Trim has 
drowned his grief with liquor so often this quarter that 
Maxcy has had him at the tribunal bar, and last night 
admonished him and fined him 6 shillings. It was divert- 
ing the other day to hear Gary and Webb dispute. They 
twited each other of appearing in borrowed feathers at 
exhibition &c . . . and came nigh to fighting. 

" It is almost time for prayers, I must bid you adieu 

" y. Tallmadge " 
" Mr. Wm. Greene." 

". . . N. Olney says when rogues quarrel honest men 
get their rights." 



Memories of Brown 27 

In a more cheerful vein Tallmadge addresses Green 
on March 23, 1798, shortly after the letter last printed. 



" Reverend & Honored Sir: — 

". . . Away sorrow — Let us recount our joys. I im- 
agine you are particularly anxious to obtain information 
of our Collegiate affairs. I will therefore make that my 
principle subject. I informed you the situation of busi- 
ness this last term in my former letter. The Collegiate 
transactions continued in the same uninterrupted strain 
from the time I wrote to you until the fatal day arrived. 
A day "big with the fate of Cato and of Rome." A 
day in which the irrevocable sentence was pronounced 
and we were informed whether misery or happiness was 
our future lot. The evening before our parts were al- 
loted was gloomy, it was dark. Each ones face pro- 
claimed the agitation of his heart. Morpheus the ever 
adorable god of sleep, deigned not to bless some of our 
class with his presence. Unable to sleep, they traversed 
the lonely halls and saepe gemunt ab ima corde. Had I 
not been knowing to the ultimate cause of their distress 
and positive from whom the lamentations proceeded, I 
should have imagined myself removed to some desert 
place where I was listening to the footsteps of some 
ghastly ghost wandering over the fallen ruins of a once 
magnificent dome, and the terrifying croakings of the 
solitary owl. 

" After prayers they all looked with anxious expectation. 
If you have ever seen the sable cat from under the barn 
floor glare with her flaming eyeballs, imagine if you can 
endure the thought, 27 of them in one row with eyes if 
possible more terrible than usual looking you full in the 
face, and you will have a good representation of our class 
and the deplorable situation of little Jock. He at length 



28 Memories of Brown 

summoned a sufficiency of mind to proclaim the following 
arrangements. Dexter, Salutatory. Webb, Valedictory . 
Bullock, Cary, Tallmadge, Thompson, Intermediates. 
Albro, Underwood, Waterm^an, Dissertations. Foster, 
Latin Diss. Hathaway, Maxwell, Sabine, Williams, Dis- 
pute. Thompson, Fessenden, Gree^ie, Dialogue. Gary, 
Btillock, Allen, Tallm-adge, Dialogue. 

" Finis 
''Amen 



" I shall not comment upon this arrangement of the parts 
but shall leave it for your own consideration. I shall only 
observe that some think it is not just. Maxwell is high, 
talked with Maxcy and at length told him it was a damned 
partial distribution, in a rage he went off to Newport but 
Rogers sent him directly back and he is now much cooled. 

" I would write much more to you but time and paper 
both forbid. I am very anxious to have you come in as 
we begin to dispute in the class. . . . 

The following communication is to William E. Green, 
Worcester, from Rudolphus H. Williams, his classmate, 
at college, April 8, 1798: 

" Dear Class Mate 

"... But reverting to a more ludicrous theme I 
will have recourse to Collegiate affairs. As Mr. Tall- 
madge has given you a catalogue of the parts I shall not 
trouble you with another but will recite some of the 
transactions since. The next night after ; the locks that 
are on the doors that lead to the bell were filled with lead 
so that we had a long morning before the ringing of the 
bell, the entries nightly resound with crashing of bottles 
and the hoarse rumbling of wood and stones. We have 



Memories of Brown 29 

found out that Father Messer was the principal man in 
giving out the parts and for that reason he is treated with 
contempt by the students. Mr. Maxcy has been unwell 
the last week so that he did not attend prayers and Messer 
officiated and he has both been hissed and clapt. I have 
been choked ever since the parts came out, and I have 
not swallowed yet, Sir Peter has gotten quite calm but 
Sabin scowls. I asked a dismission and went home but 
my Parents would not let me take it. Waterman and 
Allen are well pleased. Underwood and Fessenden are 
not in, Gary's eyes have been red all this quarter, and it 
is the most general time for visiting brothers that I ever 
knew ..." 

Another glimpse of the lighter side of college life is af- 
forded by this observation in a letter from Meltiah Green, 
at home, to his elder brother, William E. Green, at college, 
June 14, 1798: 

"... It is very hard you can't write when you have 
nothing to do but walk about the streets. I have often 
heard that the last year at Collegde is spent pritty much 
in play . . ." 

The college treaty of 1798 is described in the following 
letter of June 25 from William E. Green, at college, to his 
brother, Dr. John Green, Jr.: 

" Dear Brother 

" I now write you to inform you of the little fray which 
has happened here within a few weeks as it is now at 
its crisis I shall just sketch it in its outlines — In the 
first place there has been some difficulty concerning 
the price of board & the students made some touse about 
it & the President forbad any meeting or convention of 



30 Memories of Brown 

the students & likewise any committee from them which 
very much inflamed them & they rose in mass & put a 
stop to commons for a few days which made the authority 
very angry & they threated to expel, but we were so unani- 
mous that they dared not put their threats in execution 
& then he the President made a treaty with us which I 
shall put at the bottom of this letter & we are now about 
fixing for to return to commons. I wish you would send 
me 20 Dol for I am in great need of it just now your kind 
complyance with this my request will oblige your loving 

brother 

" William E. Green." 

"... Treaty of Amity & Intercourse between the 
President of Rhode Island College & the party rebel- 
lious — June 23, 1798. 

" The committee of the students of R. I. College are here- 
by informed that in case of complyance on their part 
respecting the laws which require them to board in com- 
mons the subscriber will use his utmost exertions to have 
the board law of the students in every respect agreeable 
& will prevent as far as his influence will extend the ex- 
ecution of any penalties that may have been incurred by 
those students who have left commons contrary to law ; 
the subscriber also will in future grant liberty to apply 
either to himself or the corporation by committee, & for 
this purpose that all such transactions may be valid will 
present a resolution to the corporation at their next meet- 
ing for their approbation. 

" JoNA Maxcy Pres." 

In the eighteenth century, as since, the college com- 
pared favorably with its neighbors. From Poughkeepsie, 
September 17, 1798, James Tallmadge, Jr., wrote his class- 
mate, William E. Green : 



Memories of Brown 31 

" Esteemed Friend, 

" I hasten to inform you of my safe arrival at home. 
I attended the Commencement at Newhaven and find 
it though much celebrated, not equal to ours. The 
students speak formally and likewise theatrically. Their 
compositions were very poor, scarcely equal to our Sopho- 
more productions. The at(tendan)ce at Commencement 
was not more than one quarter as large as ours. The 
house in which they hold Commencement is something 
like Wilsons meeting house or the Church in Providence. 



The " Old Brick" and the " Weazle ! " Eighteenth-century 
college boys were as fond of terse slang as their suc- 
cessors. This is to William E. Green, at Worcester, 
from his classmate, Moses Miller, Jr., at college, July 6, 
1799: 

" Worthy friend 

" Now I am sitting in the old closet rather in a State 
of gloominess. . . . 

" The Old Brick resounds very frequently with the 
breaking of glass bottles against Tutor T's door. If he 
can be called a Tutor. We have given him the epithet 
of Weazle. He is frequently peaking through the knot 
holes & cracks to watch his prey. The cat that crafty 
animal gives him a douse in the chops not infrequently. 
She has not yet been able to be in full possession of him. 
But if Mr. Weazle is not more careful his destruction is 
certain. . . . 

" Old Die Shins around among the girls with the ut- 
most freedom. Young Daniel throws Glass bottles, & is 
raking about every night. . . ." 



32 Memories of Brown 

" N. B. Please to inquire of Mr. Thomas for some dia- 
logues, we are in great necessity for some for exhibition. 
There are two which we wish for viz. Vinton in the Suds, 
Brave Irishman. If he has not these Please to obtain 
some others if you think they are suitable & send them 
by next mail. Mr. Thomas will charge me with them 
& swell up." 

Again Miller, at college, writes his classmate, William 
E. Green, under date of March 21, 1800: 
I 

" Dear friend : 

"feeling anxious to hear from you I take my pen 
hoping that you will favor me with an answer. I have not 
received a line from Worcester since I saw you last. We 
have had shocking times such as the Old Brick never 
experienced before. A Revolution began here 13 inst. 
It broke forth like the torrents from the precipice, and 
for some time swept all before it. The passions at length 
subsided, and the storm abated. No study ! No prayers ! 
Nothing but riot and confusion ! No regard paid to 
Superiors. Indeed, Sir, the spirit of '75 was displayed in 
its brightest colors. On the 19th inst. I prepared my 
things to quit, never more to return ; one hour before we 
were to depart, one of the wise men of the corporation 
addressed us like an old Fabius, not to be so hasty. 
After mature reflection we consented to certain proposi- 
tions which were then made. My feelings at this time 
were unutterable, — scarcely could I contain myself for 
joy. We had been denyed regular dismissions and ex- 
pulsion must have been our lots. By this time I suppose 
you'll wish to know the cause of this confusion. The 
Steward's inattention to his duty and the long enmity 
that has existed between him and the students became 



Memories of Brow?t 53 

intolerable. Frequent applications were made to render 
our situation more favorable, but all to no purpose. 

" It became impossible to reconcile the students with the 
Steward. We requested the Bill of repairs. It was re- 
fused. The Steward insulted us with his abusive language. 
We became exceedingly irritated. At length 13 of March, 
the memorable 13 of March —we inconsiderately carried 
headlong by passion framed an instrument which con- 
tained all the names of those who boarded in Commons 
With This Declaration. 

" We Solemnly Swear that we will not attend to any 
duties of the said College till the Steward is removed 
from his Ofhce ! ! ! ! This instrument was presented to 
Jonathan by Benj. Bourne, John Paddleford, Philo Wash- 
burn and others a select committee for the sd. purpose. 
And behold Jonathan's ire was kindled and his wrath 
burst forth on his subjects. They were in the Chapel 
when he came to beseech the Lord ! They began to re- 
tire. He found it in vain to command. He requested 
them to stop. He addressed us in as mild language as 
he could possibly considering the causes of provocation. 
He told us we were trampling upon all law. He pledged 
his fidelity, that our grievances should be removed, as far 
as it was in his power to remove them, if we would return 
to our duty. But all the arguments of the most learned 
men of his subjects could not prevail them to retract. 
We chose another person to inform him that we would 
not retract. Jonathan convened the Wise men who took 
counsel against us. The next day being the 14 of March, 
A. D. 1800 at 12 o'clock we were assembled in the Chapel 
at the request of Jonathan. When, behold, Jonathan and 
the Wise men came in (the Wise men you will understand, 
Hitchcock, Gano, Holroyd etc.) He read the resolutions 
of the Wise men. They could not have us in a state of 
rebellion. We must present them a legal instrument. 



34 Memories of Brown 

After this, Benj. Bourne was called out and expelled. 
John Paddleford rusticated. Philo Washburn rusticated. 
John G. Dorance degraded. Three others rusticated and 
one fined. We were forbidden all access to the authority 
by committees till we returned to our duty. But we did 
not obey we sent a committee to inform the President 
that if those who were punished were not restored we 
should leave College. He refused, like a good friend, any 
mediation till we had returned to our duty. On Satur- 
day 15 inst. the most learned of his subjects caused 
them to retract by their powerful eloquence. We pre- 
sented a legal instrument to the Wise men for the resto- 
ration of those who were punished. They would not 
hear us. Wednesday 19 inst. our class went to the Presi- 
dent, four by four, requesting him to dismiss us, but he 
refused. We were determined to go dismissed or not 
but opportunely the Hon. Judge Bourne interposed, and 
we consented to return, till the annual meeting of the 
corporation, which is next week. What will be the de- 
termination is very doubtful. If they do not submit, in 
part, we shall quit without any cerimony. 

" I am Sir yos. sincerely 

" Moses Miller " 

" P. S. The authority have acted wisely but the cor- 
poration have acted passionately." 

When the newspapers and the town-tattle of to-day 
busy themselves with "outrageous and unprecedented 
doings on the hill," let us smile as we recall this our last 
glimpse into the student life of the eighteenth century. 

Theodore Francis Green, iSSy. 



Memories of Brown 35 



Exhibitions in the Old Town House 



SOME fifty years ago (about 1801) the college was a 
public institution. Everybody expressed an inter- 
est in it, and everything was done to interest the 
public in it. In all its festivals, something was ad- 
dressed to the people, something to catch the attention 
of the multitude and to please, if you choose, even the 
rabble, and thereby to raise an aspiration, if possible, that 
their children might partake of the advantages of educa- 
tion. 

Many a time have I attended " exhibitions " of the under- 
graduates, in the old town house. On these occasions, 
a temporary stage was erected in front of the pulpit, and 
some neighbor was called upon for the loan of a carpet, 
to cover the naked boards. In the southeast corner, un- 
der the gallery, was the dressing-room, screened from 
vulgar eyes by a fair chintz curtain. From behind this 
came forth the youthful orators, who have since edified 
churches and charmed senates and courts, trembling like 
aspen leaves, and blushing like young maidens. Gener- 
ally, a part of two classes appeared. The sophomores 
spouted " select pieces," with tone and emphasis and 
manner which would make the heart of the author ache 
again ; at least, so I think now. Then I formed a differ- 
ent opinion, more in unison with that of the speakers. 
The juniors appeared in " original pieces," as did also the 
seniors. At the close, a select number from each " acted 
a play " or " spoke a dialogue," dressed in character. 
There in the pulpit sat the president and the professors 



36 



Memories of Brow?j 



and the tutors (there were tutors in college then) all as 
stiff and staid, as sober and as grave, as masters of arts and 
doctors in divinity ought to be, and they wore these literary 
honors with complacency at least. They never dared " to 
go to the theatre " if they wished to ever so much ; public 
opinion would have resented such an act, and there was 




Old Town House, Southwest corner Benefit and College Streets 

Built for First Congregational Church, 1723; used as Town House 1795 till 1860, 

when it was demolished. Site of present County Court House 



no " Museum " then ; no, that is the result of progress 
long since then. And so these grave and reverend mas- 
ters and doctors from the pulpit would look on, and some- 
times smile to see their pupils " act." Over the dressing- 
room, in the gallery, usually sat the musicians, as many 
in number as the exhibitors could afford to hire, who 
would occasionally discourse such music as is now seldom 



Mi 



emories o 



ifB 



rown 



37 



heard. I have seen that old town house crowded as full 
of ladies, bright-eyed ladies too, and gentlemen as the 
" Old Baptist " used to be on the afternoon of commence- 
ment day ; not a vacant seat in those old square pews nor 
a place to stand in those broad aisles. At each outside 
door stood a doorkeeper, a constable generally, if the 
thief-taking business, not so pressing in those days as now, 
allowed them leisure to be there. These demanded " the 
tickets " of all who proposed to go in. On these tickets 
were printed the name of the class or classes exhibiting, 
the where and the when, with a notice at the bottom, 
" Children positively not admitted." Notwithstanding 
this, very many less than duodecimo copies of humanity 
were smuggled in. 

These exhibition days were a kind of half-holydays to 
boys and girls. Schools were not closed, it is true, but 
they might as well have been, for few besides the instruc- 
tors attended them. Many an old woman looked forward 
to the profits on her molasses-candy sales on these days, 
as the means of providing her some of the luxuries of life, 
for boys expected and had coppers and afterwards cents 
on these occasions as they did on " artillery elections " 
and other training days. 

Providence Journal, July /, i8^i. 







38 Memories of Brown 



College and Town in 1819 



THE COLLEGE has undergone many important 
changes since the first quarter of the century. 
During my residence there, old University Hall 
and the Rev. Dr. Messer's barn were the only 
buildings on the campus. The president's house was 
inside of the college grounds, and his horse and cow kept 
the grass low. At that time there were one hundred 
students, all of whom slept and studied in the college, 
and most of them, except city students, took their meals 
there. The late Joseph Cady, the steward, provided for 
every want, and at the close of the term assessed the 
expense per week upon each student, which never ex- 
ceeded ^1.40. It cost very little more to carry a young 
man through college then than one year costs since board 
in college was given up. There was a vacation of two 
months from Christmas, to which many students were 
permitted to add another month, when, by keeping school, 
they earned enough to pay their board for the whole year. 
Great changes have occurred in that portion of the 
town lying between Thayer street. East avenue and the 
Seekonk river. The whole of that large space then con- 
sisted of unoccupied meadows and pastures. As the 
chief pastime of the students in those days, before boating 
and playing ball were introduced, consisted in walking to 
the Red Bridge, through Angell street, we became very 
familiar with its beautiful springtime appearance. The 
only houses then visible from the college in the above- 
named space were those of my father-in-law. Colonel 



Memories of Brown 39 

Alexander Jones, Governor Fenner's and Moses Brown's, 
the last since destroyed by fire. No other street but 
Angell then led directly to the river. What is now 
Waterman street was chiefly a pasture for horses. A 
footpath led through it to Angell, which I travelled every 
Sunday in going to St. John's Church. 




Albert Gorton Greene, 1820 
Author of " Old Grimes" 

The only houses on Prospect street were those of 
Colonel Thomas Halsey and his son-in-law. Captain 
Creighton. From George street to Power, through 
Brown, the brick house then occupied by Mr. Moses 
Eddy was the only one erected on the latter, and on 
College street as far as Benefit the only house was that 
occupied by a Mr. Jenckes. 

Samuel B Teuton Shaw, i8ig. 




Horace Mann, 1819 
Statue in front of the Massachusetts State House 



Memories of Brown 41 



Horace Mann, 1819 



MY acquaintance with Mr. Mann commenced in 
Providence in the fall of 18 16. We then both en- 
tered the sophomore class of Brown University, 
and soon contracted a friendship, which, on my 
part certainly, continued during his life. During the last 
two years of our college life we were chums, occupying room 
No. 30 in University Hall. We were both of mature, and I 
believe about the same, age. Having been brought up in 
the country (he in Franklin, and I in Oxford, Mass.,) it 
was perhaps rather due to our early education than other- 
wise that the dissipations of neither the college nor the 
city had any controlling attractions for us. During the 
three years of our college life, I recollect not a single in- 
stance of impropriety on his part. 

Perhaps I ought to confess one college sin, if sin it be 
deemed. The students had long been in the habit of 
celebrating the Fourth of July in the chapel. In our 
junior or senior year, arrangements were made for the 
accustomed celebration. The college government for- 
bade it. A majority of the students went for resisting the 
government. I went for loyalty. But my chum, being a 
little the more impulsive, and having been chosen the 
orator for the occasion, went for independence and the 
celebration of it. The procession was formed in the col- 
lege yard. I concluded that, if there must be rebellion, 
I had better rebel against the college government than 
against the majority of my fellow-students. I took the 
front rank in the procession ; helped to open the chapel 



42 Memories of Brown 

door; and chum went in, and delivered his oration amidst 
great applause. A trifling fine was imposed upon him ; 
but he lost no credit with either the students or the gov- 
ernment. 

I believe he afterwards vindicated the principles of 
subordination in college government. But I trust that 
our Fourth-of-July rebellion never gave him any serious 
remorse of conscience ; it certainly never troubled mine. 
There are cases when generous sentiment pleads strongly 
for an amnesty of the fault of violating strict discipline. 

Notwithstanding Mr. Mann entered college under the 
disadvantage of going into an advanced class, he soon as- 
sumed the first place in it. He had been remarkably well 
fitted in the languages under an instructor of some note ; 
I think, by the name of Barrett. I never heard a student 
translate the Greek and Roman classics with greater facil- 
ity, accuracy and elegance. As we should expect, he was 
a fine writer; and, as we should not expect from that 
circumstance, he also excelled in the exact sciences. 

My chum possessed qualities of a high order. By this 
means he attracted the attention and secured the respect, 
not only of the members of our own class, but of members 
of the other classes in college. Our room was the centre 
of much good company, except in study hours ; and I 
sometimes almost wished that I had not so interesting 
and attractive a room-mate. But I felt much more than 
compensated by his intelligence, and by the fact that the 
company his genial manners invited were from amongst 
the best young men in the college. 

Ira Moore Barton, i8ig. 



Memories of Brown 43 



Samuel Gridley Howe, 1821 



•)f 



MY father in due time was ready for college. 
Harvard was strongly Federalist, and no son 
of my grandfather's should go there. These 
were hard times in the family, and only one of 
the three boys could be sent to college ; my grandfather's 
method of deciding among the three was characteristic 
of the man. Calling them up before him, he opened the 
big Family Bible, and bade each in turn read a chapter 
aloud. " The one who reads best," he said, "shall go to 
college." 

Probably there was little doubt as to the choice, for 
my father was always an admirable reader ; at all events, 
it fell upon him. Joseph went into business, Edward to 
sea, while Samuel entered Brown University, in 18 18, in 
the seventeenth year of his age. 

My father always spoke of his college days with a curi- 
ous mixture of real regret and humorous pleasure. He 
was truly sorry that he had not studied harder, had not 
turned to better account the precious years whose value 
he came to know so well in later life; and yet — he had 
had such a " good time ! " He was born with a passion 
and a talent for practical joking, which never left him 
through life ; and he gave full swing to both during the 
years at Providence. It could not be helped. The very 
ardor of temperament which led him on from scrape to 



* Reprinted, by permission, from " Letters and Journals of Samuel Gridley 
Howe, edited by his daughter, Laura E. Richards." 



44 Memories of Brown 

scrape was that which later was to carry him through fire 
and water, to sustain him — 

" In the prison of the Kaiser, 
By the barricades of Seine." 



But the college authorities could not be expected to un- 
derstand this. When the president's horse was led up 
to the very top of one of the college buildings and 
left there over night, or when ink was squirted through a 
keyhole at a too curious tutor whose eye happened to 
be on the other side, the authorities only felt that here 
was a naughty lad who was getting himself and others 
into trouble, and bringing discredit upon the college ; 
and Sam Howe was rusticated once and again. 

These were what he in later life called " monkey shines." 
He regretted them, as I have said, but there was no 
keeping the twinkle out of his eye, as he told how funny 
the old horse looked, stretching his meek head out of 
the fourth-story window, and whinnying mournfully to 
his amazed master passing below. 

Many years after, my father, being in Providence at 
commencement time, went to call on his old president. 
Doctor Messer, then living in retirement, for the express 
purpose of apologizing to him for the " monkey shines." 
The old gentlemen received him with a look of alarm, 
and, motioning him to a chair, took his own seat at some 
distance, and kept a wary eye on his former pupil. My 
father began his apology, but Doctor Messer interrupted 
him. 

" I declare, Howe," he cried, moving his chair still 
further back, " I am afraid of you now ! I'm afraid there 
will be a torpedo under my chair before I know it." 

My father used to tell this story with great gusto ; and 
he was apt to follow it up with another, telling us how. 



Memories of Brown 45 

some years after leaving college, he chanced to meet an old 
classmate, who exclaimed, " You must be Sam Howe ! " 

" I am his son!" said my father, quietly. 

"His son!" cried the poor man. " Good heavens ! I 
must be an old fellow indeed, if Sam Howe can have a 
son as old as you are." 

Another classmate, Doctor Caswell (himself at one 
time president of Brown University,) has thus described 
my father's personality in his college days : 

" He was a mere stripling, but nature had been gener- 
ous in giving him an attractive physique. He was of 
middling height, slender in form, erect, agile, and elastic 
in his movements. With fine features, a fresh, pink com- 
plexion, a keen blue eye, full of purpose and meaning, 
and of mirth as well, with open, frank and genial manners, 
he could not fail to win the kind regard of his youthful 
companions. He showed mental capabilities which should 
naturally fit him for fine scholarship. His mind was 
quick, versatile and inventive. I do not think he was 
deficient in logical power, but the severer studies did not 
seem to be congenial to him. In all practical matters he 
saw intuitively and at a glance what was the best thing 
to be done. In any strait or difiiculty, or any sudden 
emergency of danger, if there was any possible way of 
escape, nobody need inform him what it was. Before 
anybody else had time to think, his plan was formed." 



46 Memories of Brown 



College Pranks in the Early Twenties 



IN the early twenties a snow storm occurred of such 
severity as to lay an absolute embargo on all country 
trade with the town of Providence. One result was 
that the price of wood went up to fourteen dollars a 
cord. The farmers who first penetrated the encircling- 
drifts secured this amount for their loads, but on the 
second day the value of the fuel depreciated one entire 
dollar. A less energetic, but equally avaricious, farmer, 
who then appeared, traversed the streets the entire day 
in a vain attempt to secure the tiptop price. In order 
to avoid drawing his load home and back again, he asked 
President Messer if he could not leave his sled in the 
yard back of the college. University Hall then stood in 
solitary grandeur. Permission was readily accorded, so 
the man drove his sled to the designated spot, unyoked 
his oxen, and with guileless thought started for home. 
Returning for his load next morning, he found neither 
wood nor sled nor yet tracks indicative of their mode of 
departure. After long and anxious search, he chanced 
to look up, when he espied his property exactly as he 
had left it, save that meanwhile it had taken to itself 
wings and flown to the roof of the venerable structure 
where it rested peacefully and securely. 

In those days the Scripture lesson was read at morning 
prayers from the Greek Testament by members of the 
freshman class. The extent was twenty verses from that 
last read on the preceding day. Three or four mornings 
after the opening of the academic year a neophyte was 



Mi 



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47 



at a point now indicated by the crossing of Waterman 
and Benefit streets, when the college bell rang. He 
started at full speed across lots and succeeded in enter- 
ing the chapel as the janitor closed its doors. No sooner 

had he taken his seat 
than he heard his name 
pronounced by the pres- 
ident. Continuing the 
same energetic activity 
he had been exhibiting 
the preceding three 
minutes, he sprang to 
his feet and went 
through the twenty 
verses with unsurpassed 
rapidity. On pausing, 
the president kindly 
prompted. " The ex- 
tent, sir ! " was the im- 
mediate rejoinder. 
"Humph! Let us pray!" 
ejaculated Dr. Messerin 
his gruffest tones. How- 
ever, he did not disturb 
that student again dur- 
ing the entire term. 
In very ancient times, the college chapel occupied what 
is now the two lower floors of the front projection of 
University Hall, the second furnishing the galleries. 
Junior exhibition, then as later, was a most important 
occasion. As the seating capacity was limited, numerous 
exercises not laid down in the programme were held on 
the front campus. On one occasion as Dr. Messer was 
presiding with all the pompous dignity which character- 
ized his every act, his attention was attracted by repeated 




President Asa Messer, 1790 
From the portrait in Sayles Hall 



48 



Memories of Brown 



outbursts of enthusiastic vociferations upon the front 
campus. Glancing out as .well as his exalted enthrone- 
ment permitted, he discovered that his old but faithful 
white horse, ornamented with the letters "A. M." painted 
so as practically to cover each entire side, was being 
driven around haphazard by the crowd, which naturally 
interpreted the cabalistic symbols as signifying the bearer 
was none other than Asa Messer, or at the very least a 
Master of Arts. Of course, under the circumstances, the 
president could do nothing but scowl ! 

On a certain commencement day, the exercises in the 
First Baptist Meeting- House were somewhat disturbed 
by mock applause on the part of the undergraduates. The 
patience of President Messer was at last exhausted, and, 
turning towards them, he jerked out in a gruff voice: 
" Gentlemen, I want just as little noise as can possibly 
be brought about ! " The outburst of genuine applause 
was terrific and long lasting. 

George B. Peck^ 1864. 




Providence about 1820 
University Hall at the right on the horizon 



Memories of Brown 49 

High Old Times at Commencement 

in 1827 



AS many of our distant readers may not be ac- 
quainted with a Rhode Island Commencement, 
or in other words, with the nature of the doings 
of that day, in which the annual commencement 
of Brown University is celebrated, we will for their 
special "benefit and behalf," attempt to afford them a 
slight sketch, which shall not be exaggerated, falsely col- 
ored, or shaded, for the sake of producing, what Mr. Sum- 
ner Lincoln Fairfield is pleased to call " effect." This an- 
nual festival, gala, or by whatever name you may be pleased 
to call it, conducted as it is at present, and producing the 
excitement that it does, is to our minds, destitute of 
moral instruction, and is calculated to demoralize, and to 
introduce pernicious and baleful practices among a vir- 
tuous and industrious people. 

It is not to the occasion, that we take exceptions, but 
it is to the manner in which it is managed, that we now 
enter our candid protest. That the anniversary of a 
Literary Institution, should be celebrated, in order that 
those who are attached to its interests, may have an 
opportunity of mingling, and of renewing former associa- 
tions, and that they who are about to leave its walls, 
should have an opportunity of making a display of their 
talents, and of their advances towards the founts of learn- 
ing, are propositions, to which we yield our cordial assent ; 
but, in the name of all mercies, we would ask, is it neces- 
sary to the accomplishment of such ends, that a whole 
community, and nearly a whole state, should be thrown 



50 Memories of Brown 

into a state of utter confusion ? Certainly not ; and as 
we cannot conceive any good reason for the present 
management of our commencements, we hope, that the 
present absurd and ridiculous plan, will be abolished, as 
speedily as practicable. 

The annual anniversary of the commenement of Brown 
University begins to make its appearance in visible 
effects about the first Monday in September, and they 
remain indelibly imprinted on the feelings of the com- 
munity, something like a fortnight ; — and there are some, 
that sensibly feel its effects for a much longer period. 
At the early part of the week, carriages, steam-boats, 
sloops and schooners, are put in requisition, and thus in a 
httle period, "confusion doubly confused " is introduced 
among us, and before the day of celebration arrives, the 
town is thronged with strangers, whose professed object 
in coming among us, is to witness the performance of the 
day. When arrived here, not one half of them have an 
opportunity of gratifying their curiosity, and ten chances 
to one, if all are not sadly disappointed in their expecta- 
tions. 

The utility of making a public display of the talents 
and acquirements of the graduates of Brown University, 
is freely admitted, but then it must be apparent to every 
reflecting mind, that the present mode is not only inex- 
pedient but improper. As things are now managed, a 
procession is formed at the University Halls, and to the 
sounds of martial music, march to the First Baptist Church, 
where amid a vast deal of ostentatious parade, the young 
gentlemen are introduced to the public, and are allowed 
to give specimens of their rhetorical and declamatory 
powers. 

The procession thus formed, is composed of the re- 
spectable classes of the community, and of strangers, 
arranged according to their rank, wealth and condition, 



Memories of Brow?i 5 1 

and are thus placed before the world to receive its gaze, 
and to listen for the plaudits of the million. Arrived at 
the church, after a deal of useless ceremony and parade, 
their respective stations are assigned, and after a prayer 
to the Throne of Grace is offered, a Latin Salutatory is 
delivered by some forward and talented young man, 
which perhaps is understood by a half dozen of the 
audience, and those who cannot understand it, think it 
must, of course, be very good, simply because they do not 
comprehend one sentence of the speaker. The orders of 
the day, between Latin and indistinct English are carried 
into execution, and when all is closed, we have a Latin 
Valedictory, and the conferring of degrees, which is also 
executed in Latin, and then the procession is again 
formed and retires to the college. 

We do not object to the introduction of Latin essays 
and addresses on occasions like these, from mere affecta- 
tion, but because we think, that when a vast multitude is 
assembled, it is very proper to address them in a language 
which they can understand, and at the same time impart 
to them, some idea of the merits and talents of the aspir- 
ant for literary honor. 

Of the vast concourse who visit the town on commence- 
ment day, but a very small proportion care a farthing 
about the literary exercises ; they come only to see and to 
be seen — to indulge in hilarity, fun and frolic — to visit 
their relatives, the theatre, and the circus ; and then re- 
turn to their homes, without deriving the least benefit. 

The lower and disorderly classes of society, make the 
whole an affair of amusement, drink to excess, quarrel and 
fight, neglect their useful employments, get bloody noses, 
and a night's lodging at the bridewell. In the midst of 
the scenes of bustle and confusion, pickpockets are busily 
employed at their vocation, infamous women throng the 
town, counterfeiters, thieves and swindlers are on the 



52 



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alert, and the whole town is infested with a visit from all 
of the dregs of creation, who come among us only to dep- 
redate and destroy. 

All the evils which are engendered by the celebration 
of commencement, could be very easily obviated, if the 

thing were managed in a 
I different manner ; if the 

trustees of the college 
would cause the com- 
mencement to be cele- 
brated in some chapel 
or convenient place at- 
tached to the Univer- 
sity buildings; and then 
the day would pass off 
in soberness and propri- 
ety, to the infinite ad- 
vantage of the student, 
and to the credit of the 
-, town. 
viflw Beside the immoral 
, effects produced by the 




Horatio Gates Bowen, 1797 
University Librarian, 1824-40 



celebration, the im- 
mense sums in money 
and labour it costs would 
be saved, and might be applied to better purposes than 
those of vice and dissipation. The loss in labour alone 
may be safely computed at twenty thousand dollars; — in 
money almost double that amount; — and yet all this is 
squandered away to celebrate the annual commencement 
of Brown University, without saying anything about the 
loss of reputation, hats, umbrellas, blood and the senses. 



Literary Cadet, September 8, 1827. 



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Essay-Burning in 1831 




Y GRANDFATHER, Jo- 
seph Cady, was steward of 
Brown University from 
1 81 2 to 1826. The first 
year he bought a lot on 
George street of a Mrs. 
Sarah Hopkins, who owned 
.. a good deal of land now 
j' belonging to the college. 
Her house stood where 
the west part of Rhode Island Hall now stands, Mr. 
Cady's on the east part. A narrow lane ran between the 
two houses until it lost itself at the turnstile leading on 
to the front campus. Mr. Cady's garden extended up to 
the site of Slater Hall. 

The first thing I remember about college affairs was the 
burning of the essays by the students when I was about 
seven years old. It was probably at the end of the spring 
term of 1831. Commencement was then the first Wed- 
nesday in September. One morning I noticed two tall 
poles standing on the east side of Hope College with 
bundles of white paper tied on them. Soon I heard 
music, and running up the garden promptly climbed the 
fence to investigate. A procession of students, dressed 
in fantastic costumes, came around University Hall, not 
a lengthy procession like those of the present day, but 
quite as enthusiastic, and the music (probably Washing- 
ton's March, as that was always played on great occasions) 
was very inspiriting. They went by the old well up the back 



54 



Memories of Brown 



campus and halted ; 
probably there were 
speeches. Then the 
papers were lighted, 
and made a very pretty 
bonfire. I was told 
afterwards that the 
bundles contained the 
essays that the students 
had written during the 
year. I do not remem- 
ber ever seeing such a 
procession afterwards. 
Mr. Cady's house 
stood on George street 
until after his death in 
1862. In 1866 the lot 
was exchanged for one 
on Prospect street and 
the old house com- 
menced a journey 
across the back campus 
to a new location. As 
there were no buildings 
to be endangered then, 
the students conceived 
the brilliant idea of set- 
ting it on fire and hav- 
ing an illumination 
worth while. The 
police, however, found out the plot and had a guard around 
the house all night. The next day it was moved on and 
it now stands on Waterman street numbered 72. 

May II, 1908. Susan B. Ely* 

* Daughter of Thomas Backus, 1819, and widow of Dr. J. W. C. Ely, 1842. 




Joseph Cady 
Steward, 1812-26 



Memories of Brown 55 



The ''Tallow-Candle Illumination" 



How well do we remember the time when we 
made one of the vast crowd of ' literati ' of 
all ages, sexes, conditions and colors, who on 
the university grounds witnessed and en- 
joyed that ever memorable ' tallow-candle illumination ' 
on the Tuesday night preceding commencement day. 
With what mingled emotions of awe, admiration and de- 
light (we were younger in those days than we are now) did 
we listen to the ' full band ' posted on the platform, and con- 
template the astonishing skill of the gifted men who could 
discourse such scientific music as Washington's March 
through the mysterious convolutions of the bugle, the 
French horn and the serpent ! The dazzling brilliancy 
of the illumination, as it suddenly burst upon the vision 
at the sound of the college bell, was overwhelming ; the 
bright eyes and blithesome beauty of the girls was per- 
fectly inspiring; the jokes of the gallants capital; the jol- 
lity of the white and colored spectators refreshing in the 
highest degree; and the sudden extinguishment of the 
candles at the signal for the closing show startling, if not 
appalling, while the promiscuous descent of the vast 
crowd through College street, at a 'hazardous rate of 
speed,' and without the benefit of any other gas than that 
emanating from the mouths of a race of wags now quite 
extinct, constituted a finale at once extremely ludicrous 
and dangerously interesting. It never failed to give both 
strangers and citizens new and ' enlarged views of men 
and things.' By the way, the country people, who used to 



56 



Memories of Brown 



come into town in wagon loads to see the illumination 
and hear the music, always supposed that the college can- 
dles were real wax. They were nothing, however, but the 
cheapest kind of tallow candles, and the inexperienced 
young gentlemen of the freshman class generally made 
shocking work of them. Not only the window seats and 
the floors of their rooms, but their boots, hats and best 
clothes were all covered with grease for days afterwards. 
Bits of candles, in fact, were strewn all over the college 
campus (the students used to throw the candle ends down 
upon the crowd the moment the bell sounded for the ex- 
tinguishment of the lights) ; and there was nothing but 
grease, grease, grease from campus to chambers, from 
chambers to chapel, from chapel to Commons Hall. In 
truth it is not going too far to say that the only practical 
knowledge of Greece some of the young men ever ob- 
tained at the university was the knowledge of candle 
grease on the occasion of the ancient and admired tallow 
candle illumination. 

James P. Dunwell^ 18^4. 




Memories of Brown 



57 



Memories of 1832-36 



ONE of the pranks of the students which I took no 
part in, but remember well, was the carrying of 
President Wayland's cow up into the belfry of 
University Hall and tying her to the bell so that " 
it rang wildly. The perpetrators were never known. 

In Professor Caswell's 
recitations I sat in the third 
seat. On one occasion the 
student next me was un- 
prepared to recite so he 
besought me saying, " Do 
ask Caswell a question to 
set him talking." I did so, 
and the professor talked 
all the period, when he 
^i closed by saying, " Gentle- 
men, we have passed the 
hour very pleasantly but 
have made no progress 
with the lesson for the 
day. Take the same les- 
son to-morrow." The 
class passed out chuckling 
at their success in hood- 
winking the professor. 
This happened not once 
but several times. 
There were three societies among the students, the 




Francis Wayland 

As he was when he assumed the 

presidency of Brown in 1827 



58 Memories of Brown 

United Brothers, the FrankHn, and the Philermenian. 
The latter was the largest and occupied a room in Hope, 
while the Franklin society had a smaller adjoining room. 
This society was given up and gave the use of its room 
to the Philermenian, which of course it had no right to 
do. Justin R. Loomis, afterwards president of Lewis- 
burg University, and I raised by subscription $125.00 to 
refit the room and at the end of the term set to work our- 
selves to do this. Without permission from anyone we 
tore down the partitions between the two rooms and threw 
the debris out of the window. Professor Caswell passing 
by saw it and came to inquire into the affair. He made 
no objections, and nothing was ever heard from the authori- 
ties. We worked incessantly, painting and plastering, 
also altering the book-cases, which had stood against the 
partition, to fit the small spaces. Charles C. Jewett, af- 
terwards librarian of the university, and I also classified 
and catalogued the books and arranged them in the re- 
built cases. 

The class of 1835 refused so strongly to receive any as- 
signment of parts — "as an appeal to sinful ambition " — 
that only three of its members received their degrees at 
graduation, — Jonah G. Warren, S. S. Sumner and Ed- 
ward Stone. Warren afterwards acceptably filled the 
position of secretary of a missionary union. 

The class of 1836 sympathized with them and drew up 
a paper (which I think was signed by every member of 
our class) protesting against the custom. It was carried 
to the president's house, but as he was not at home it was 
left there. Nothing was ever heard from it and at gradu- 
ation every student took his position and received his de- 
gree as though no resistance had been made. John L. 
Lincoln and myself obtained the signatures to the paper. 

Jacob R. Scott was not a high-stand scholar, but no one 
else could write such pure and elegant English as he, as 



Memories of Brown 59 

he afterwards proved by his able pastorates in the South 
and in Portland, Me., and Yonkers and Rochester, N. Y. 
At the latter place he labored efficiently in establishing 
the university and the theological seminary. 

Under the influence of Jacob Knapp our class became 
strongly excited on the slavery question, some taking a 
stand for and others as earnestly against it. Professor 
Goddard was in favor of slavery and showed it plainly 
in class. It resulted in my writing my essay for public 
declamation at the close of the term on anti-reform. He 
accepted it all but the last portion, which he cut off. On 
the evening assigned for my essay, I gave it as far as the 
portion he had criticised, when I said, — " I was about to 
speak concerning another class of anti-reformers, who, 
puffed up by pride of office, would frighten all honest 
men from all attempts at reform ; but as this is forbidden 
I refrain." 

S. O. Shepard the next night came upon the platform 
with his essay, which had been severely cut by the pro- 
fessor, and delivered it as left by the latter. He spoke at 
the close saying, " I deem it but just to myself to say that 
the disconnected and disjointed condition of my essay is 
due to the criticism of the professor." 

The essays attracted the attention of the president, who 
sent for Horace T. Love (my roommate) and learned the 
whole story from him. We saw the president, with head 
down and measured tread, as was his custom when he had 
anything important on hand, go to Professor Goddard's 
house and soon return. 

The professor shortly afterward came to recitation and 
in his quick, nervous way made unfavorable comments 
which I cannot recall. 

At the last service of the year, as the president reviewed 
the year's occurrences, he said of me in substance, " One 
student with a delicacy and modesty peculiar to himself 



60 



Memories of Brown 



has presumed publicly to question the criticisms of his 
professor." Of Shepard he spoke in a similar manner 
but less severely. 

The year after graduation I went every Saturday night 
to the president for exegesis of the New Testament. As 
he was so kind to me I ventured once to refer to the oc- 
currence, but he cut me short, saying quickly, " I have 
forgotten all about it ; I know nothing of it." 

William Lawton Brown, i8j6. 



Dictated, May, 1908. 




Memories of Brown 61 



In the Days of Wayland and Elton 



IT seems to be a particularly hard matter at present to 
maintain the discipline and to preserve the good 
order of colleges. Dr. Wayland never had the least 
difficulty. He was disobeyed with fear and trembling, 
and the boldest did not care to encounter his frown. 
He was majestic in manner, and could assume, if he 
pleased, a Rhadamanthine severity. It was a calamity 
to be called into that awful presence; and no student, of 
whatever character, ever made the least pretence of not 
being frightened at the summons. Such bravado nobody 
would have believed in ; he who indulged in it would have 
been laughed at. However loosely our tongues might 
wag, we thoroughly respected and even reverenced the 
president; and upon public occasions, when he put on 
his academic gown and cap, we were rather proud of his 
imposing appearance. 

There were traditions of the frightful state in which 
he found the university upon assuming its government, 
after the anarchy of Dr. Messer's time, and of the vigor 
with which he reduced it to order and studious diligence. 
If he had less of the suaviter m modo than of the fortiter 
in re, I am not sure that there was any reason to regret 
the deficiency, for he had to deal with thoughtless young 
people who were none the worse for feeling the heavy 
hand of a master. There were those who thought his 
firmness akin to obstinacy ; but it must be remembered 
that he was a man of profound convictions, of fastidious 
conscience and of opinions not lazily arrived at. His 



62 



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temper every one knew to be naturally hot and high, but 
nobody could know how severely it was tried, or what 
efforts he made to control it. In his later days, I have 
been told, after his resignation, he exhibited marked 
urbanity and sweetness of disposition. Certainly there 
were small traces of either when any undergraduate was 

detected in an act of mean- 
ness or a flagrant violation 
of the university statutes. 
He had a heavy foot for a 
student's door when it was 
not promptly opened after 
his official knock. Once, 
when we were bent upon 
illuminating the college in 
honor of some festive occa- 
sion, and contrary to his ex- 
press injunctions, he ex- 
hibited his abilities in 
this way most effectually. 
" y^quo pulsat pedel' we 
quoted from Horace as we 
fled from his wrath,and saw 
one row of lights extin- 
guished after another. We 
were in great fear of sus- 
pension or of expulsion for some days after. To tell the 
truth, some of us, with reason enough, were usually in a 
state of apprehension. One young gentleman, whose con- 
science was especially cowardly that morning, was para- 
lyzed, as he was crossing the campus, by hearing his name 
called in Boanergesian style. Heavens ! it was the doctor 
who was beckoning to him ! He thought hurriedly of all 
his misdemeanors of the week just past ; for which of them 
was he now to be brought to judgment .? What was his as- 




President Wayland 



Memories of Brown 63 

tonishment, his exquisite sense of relief, when the president 

merely said, " C , have you a chew of tobacco to spare ? " 

For the doctor was a shameless consumer of the Indian 
weed ; and some intricate speculation in philosophy or 
theology had been brought to a sudden standstill by an 
untimely vacuum in the doctor's box. 

One scans with a kind of awe the marvellously miscel- 
laneous curriculum which modern ideas of liberal educa- 
tion have introduced into our American colleges. The 
young bachelors must know a little of a great many 
things. In my time it was Greek, Latin and mathe- 
matics, and mathematics, Latin and Greek, for the first 
two years at least, unless the superficial instruction in 
rhetoric and elocution is to be taken into account. But the 
limited course, which is now held in such small esteem, was 
far from contemptible in its results. It is all very well 
to say that the men forget their Greek and Latin, or find 
neither of much use in the practical business of after life. 
The grammar and vocabulary they may forget, but the 
taste, the literary sense, the critical judgment which, 
other things being equal, follow early classical training, 
are seldom lost. One who has been nurtured when 
young upon such diet rarely degenerates into a mere 
Philistine. In Dr. Horatio B. Hackett we had a classical 
teacher of distinguished abilities and accomplishments. 
He may not have known as much Latin as Gottlob Heyne, 
nor as much Greek as Dr. Porson, but he had quite enough 
of both for our young stomachs, especially when the recita- 
tion was before breakfast. I used to think him a man of 
the sixteenth century. He should have been employed in 
that kind of mastodonian annotation which swelled the 
spare remains of Velleius Paterculus into a chubby 
quarto of a thousand pages. Perhaps it was not altogether 
our fault if we could not relish the discussion of a dis- 
puted reading of Livy or of Tacitus as he relished it. 



64 



Memories of Brown 



He lived for learning, but he conscientiously gave all his 
great acquisitions to the cause of sound Christian 
knowledge. As he was accuracy itself, he occupied a 
high position among the American reviewers of the 
English Bible, and I suppose he went on toiling to the 
last. 




View of Providence 
India Point district about 1837 



We had another professor of the Greek and Latin 
languages in the Rev. Romeo Elton, S. T. D, It was 
without any accurate prescience of his future proportions 
that his parents gave to him the name of the elegant young 
lover of Verona, for he was a little, round man, of a 
presence by no means romantic. It is impossible now to 
say by what concatenation it happened, but the irreverent 



Memories of Brown ^5 



undergraduates of a bygone period had bestowed upon 
the sesquipedahan professor the name of " Bump," and 
though he was exceedingly popular, he was seldom called 
anything else. Whether he was a strong classical scholar 
or not we never could find out, for he was so absurdly 
good-natured and so punctiliously polite and of such con- 
firmed mauvaise Jionte withal, that we did much as we 
pleased in his class-room. It was upon the ground-floor, 
and when the exercises became dull, and the windows 
were open, the students occasionally jumped through them 
after roll-call and went away. They were not missed by 
the good doctor, who would probably be engaged at the 
time of the exits in a bland illustration of the Iter 
Brundusinum or some other part of Horace, drawn from 
his personal observation when abroad. It was averred 
and generally believed that he had told every sophomore 
class since 1825 how, when he was at Gottingen, he slept 
.between two feather-beds. This was an adventure the 
recital of which always caused him to cross his short legs 
rapidly in token of satisfaction, and successive classes 
waited for the narration with impatience. He was, how- 
ever, what college professors sometimes are not, — he was 
a perfectly well-bred man, and if he was ready to take the 
word of the boys without question or cross-question, the 
more graceless was it in them to tell him falsehoods. 
When he did duty at evening prayers, he always remem- 
bered " the soldier, the sailor and the slave." This ap- 
peared to be a formula which he had fixed upon as both 
comprehensive and euphonious ; so he adhered to it, and 
I do not know that he could have done better. There 
was a rule of the college that every dormitory should be 
visited by some member of the faculty during study hours, 
to make sure that the boys were at their books. This 
was one of Dr. Wayland's early notions of discipline ; I 
am happy to say that the immoral and semi-military cus- 



66 Memories of Brown 

torn was long ago abandoned in Brown University. I am 
obliged to add that one of the professors and most of the 
young tutors took kindly to the espionage, and visited the 
rooms assigned to them with punctilious regularity. 
Those students, however, who lodged in the division of 
Hope College assigned to the Rev. Romeo Elton, S. T. 
D., had a good time of it. He always looked in at the 
door with a blush, as if he were making an unwarrantable 
intrusion upon domestic privacy, and he valorously broke 
the rule by calling seldom, I think that his plan was 
never to make a domiciliary visit oftener than twice a 
week, and curiously enough he always made it at the same 
hour and upon the same days; and always found his 
grateful young gentlemen at home. 

When a man is writing or talking about his college life, 
he is expected, I hardly know for what reason, to dwell 
upon the least reputable parts of it. Almost everybody 
seems to hear with relish of the president's horse shaved, 
of the chapel-bell deprived of its tongue, of the cow intro- 
duced into the pulpit, of asafoetida placed upon the 
tutor's stove, of insolent jokes cracked at the expense of 
men renowned for learning and piety, of windows broken, 
and of homesick freshmen made needlessly miserable by 
coarse intrusion upon their privacy or by cruel profanation 
of their persons. We had enough and more than enough 
of these senseless diversions, and sufhciently tormented 
those who had us in charge, or who received in sorrow 
oihcial intelligence of our misdemeanors; but I do not 
think that the students of that time were hard-hearted or 
heartless, and I do think that there has been a change in 
more than one institution of learning for the worse. 
Perhaps we were fortunate in the circumstance that, 
whatever our disorderly exploits, nobody thought of 
putting them into the public journals. The insubordina- 
tion of some colleges has now become a staple article of 



M< 



emories 



'es of B 



rown 



67 



news, and those who disturb their studious quiet appear 
to be bolder and more reckless than we were. A rem- 
iniscent may note this change ; fortunately for himself, 
he is not required to suggest a remedy. At any rate, we 
did not indulge in manslaughter in those unsophisticated 
days. 

Charles Taber Congdon, 1841. 
Printed in his Reminiscences, 1880. 




68 Memories of Brown 



The Cloistered Life of the Early 
Forties 



STUDENT life at Brown in the early days was 
academic life pure and simple. The students 
lived together in the college, dined together in 
Commons Hall. The hours for devotion, for 
study and for recitation, the same for all, were regulated 
by the college bell with the precision of clock-work. 
The entire academic body, officers and students, was 
expected to attend chapel service at six o'clock in the 
morning and again at five in the evening, on which 
occasion after the prayer by the president, the junior or 
senior who happened to be the orator of the day pronounced 
a spirited oration on some theme of academic, local or na- 
tional interest. Every student was required to meet his 
teacher in the class-room directly after prayers in the 
morning, at eleven a. m., and at four p. m. From seven 
to nine in the evening it was his bounden duty to be at 
his books in his own private study. Such was the clois- 
tered life in college halls in the early days at Brown. 
Whatever we may think of its general influence, it surely 
had its advantages. The faculty and students constituted 
an academic family. Ties of friendship were formed 
which not even the cares of the busiest life could ever 
sunder. 

Albert Harkness, 1842. 



Memories of Brown 



69 



George William Curtis's Memories 
of Brown 




AM not an actual alumnus, and yet 
it is hard to believe it, because 
never was alumnus more tenderly 
treated by his Alma Mater than I 
have been by the college which I 
remember so long and so happily. 
I was born almost under its shad- 
ow on the southern slope of the 
hill on which it stands and near 
the house of the generous benefac- 
tor whose name it bears. As a 
child I gazed with admiration upon its students throng- 
ing down College street and stretching up Westminster 
and High streets, of an afternoon, for their "constitution- 
al," and no recollection is more vivid than that of the 
commencement procession, wath Dr. Wayland's thunder- 
ous brows crowned with the tasselled academic cap and 
the academic gown draping his massive form, with Chan- 
cellor Bridgham and the awful board of fellows, and a 
cloud of clergymen, and the elect seniors in flowing 
gowns and new shoes, bringing up the rear. This pro- 
cession in black preceded by the band descended the hill 
and marched through the lively market place to the old 
church, an annual reminder, at least, to the busy citizens 
that there were other interests than those of the count- 
ing-room. , 



70 Memories of Brown 

I have sometimes in later years fancied a loftier pride 
in Dr. Wayland's imposing port on those occasions, as if 
he delighted, in the midst of trade, to assert the dignity 
of letters. In the crowded church I always pushed up to 
the side of the platform which the graduating orator as- 
cended. Some phrases I still remember in the orations 
and especially one line in the commencement poem of 
Thomas Allen Jenckes, afterwards the father of civil ser- 
vice reform. He impaled the dudes, as yet unnamed, of 
those days, upon the sharp, satiric sneer, " Vain folly's last 
edition, bound in calf;" — a sally at which dudes and 
maidens laughed uproariously. Commencement day was 
more impressive to me than the Fourth of July. The lit- 
tle boy that I was dilated with its grandeur. When Presi- 
dent Wayland stepped out of the pulpit to address the 
Fellows, before seating himself upon the throne to confer 
the degrees, and, waving his hand toward the pew in 
which sat the graduating class, alluded to them in his 
Latin speech as "hos juvenes" I felt myself to be pros- 
pectively included. As Charles Lamb at Oxford, so I at 
Brown was admitted ad euiidem, and when afterwards 
our gracious Alma Mater distinguished me by her fav- 
ors, I felt only that she acknowledged a son as loyal as 
any child she had ever borne. 

You ask for some reminiscences of the college within 
my time. Certainly the most ancient of my Brunonian 
recollections is that of the spare and, to my boyish eyes, 
queer figure of ex- President Messer, who, after his re- 
tirement from the presidency, used sometimes to preach 
in the pulpit of the First Congregational Church. His ser- 
mons I do not recall and the chief facts that have lodged 
in my memory are his solemnity of manner and his knee 
breeches. I seem indeed, as I think of him, to perceive 
a queue, but it is probably only a vision arising from the 
sense of fitness. Given the knee breeches it is easy to 



Memories of Brown 71 

deduce the queue. Dr. Holmes's " Last Leaf," a poem 
which was, I believe, actually suggested by Major Mel- 
ville in Boston, the last survivor of Sam Adams's tea 
party, used to seem to me a metrical commemoration of 
Dr. Messer and his breeches, although " the old three- 
cornered hat " had disappeared. Dr. Messer lived be- 
yond the old Hoyle tavern on High street, in a stately 
house, as I remember, toward the Cranston line. He 
seemed to have placed himself at the furthest point from 
the college, as if in his own person to impart the atmos- 
phere and benediction of letters to that uncolleged neigh- 
borhood. Even in later years the good doctor viewed as 
the head of the university may be still, perhaps, charac- 
terized as a queer person. 

I remember, also, when Dr. Holmes in the first flush 
of his literary reputation, which began with the delivery 
of his Phi Beta Kappa poem at Cambridge, came to 
Providence to repeat it before the chapter at Brown. It 
was read in the old Baptist meeting house, of course, 
and with the utmost effect, for Doctor Holmes certainly 
disproves the dictum of Mrs. Browning in Lady Gerald- 
ine's courtship that " poets never read their own verses 
to their worth." Holmes reads his own verses with the 
most exquisite appreciation and with a modulation of 
rhythm, and a shading of tone, which conveys their sub- 
limest suggestion. The great Phi Beta Kappa audience 
in the old church never heard from any poet more reson- 
ant and charming numbers than on that day. The poem 
had especial significance for a Providence audience be- 
cause the touching lyric which broke the stately, measur- 
ed flow of the decasyllabic verse with a pensive rippling 
melody, — 

" And one amid their shades was born, 
Beneath this turf who Hes : " 



72 Memories of Brown 

was a tribute to Holmes's sister, who was the wife of Dr. 
Usher Parsons, then a practising physician and surgeon 
in Providence, whom Providence boys regarded with re- 
spect and admiration as the surgeon of Perry's fleet on 
the great day of the victory on Lake Erie. 

My older brother entered Brown fifty-one years after 
his grandfather, James Burrill, Jr., for whom he was 
named. My grandfather graduated at the age of sixteen, 
in 1788. In a few memoranda made by him and now in 
my possession he writes in a hand which attests the ex- 
cellence of his teacher, " was admitted a freshman in 
Providence College August 31st, 1784, being with W. 
Barton and D. Peckham previously examined by Dr. 
Manning, Dr. Stillman, Dr. Brown, Mr. Tutor Robins 
and Mr. Wilkinson." Again " on commencement day, 
September the 3rd, 1788, received from the hands of Dr. 
James Manning, president of the college, the degree of 
bachelor in the arts. The class which graduated consisting 
of the following young gentlemen, viz. : Messrs. Atwell, 
Barton, Blackington, Bowen, Briggs, Burrill, Daggett, 
Doggett, Fisher, Harris, Holbrook, Jackson, Lazell, 
Leonard, May, Mead, Tillinghast, Turner, Whitman. 
The exercises allotted to each and which they severally 
performed at Commencement were as follows : To At- 
well, Valedict. orat. Doggett, Sal. do. Daggett, ist 
inter do. Barton, 2d inter do. Tillinghast, Eng. orat. 
Bowen, do. Holbrook, Greek do. Mead, Heb. do. 
Leonard and Burrill, forensic dispute, and to the rest 
parts in dialogues." There is also a record of the young 
graduate's expenses in college, which, averaging a little 
more than 9 pounds a year, amounted for the four years 
to 36 pounds, 7 shillings and 2 pence. He adds the ex- 
pense of preparing for college, which was 7 pounds and 
19 shillings, making a total of 44 pounds, 6 shillings, and 
2 pence. These details are not exactly " within my time,' 



Memories of Brown 73 

but they may interest you as illustrations of the earliest 
years of the college. 

My brother entered college with the late Abraham 
Payne, with whom he sometimes occupied a room in the 
southwest corner of University Hall, on the fourth floor, 
although he generally lived at home. The late Charles 
S. Bradley, afterwards chief justice of Rhode Island, and 
George V. N. Lothrop, ex-minister to Russia, were, I 
think, two years in advance of Payne in college. The 
three men were notable figures even then. Bradley was 
a devoted student, with a certain severity of tempera- 
ment, as I recall him, and he made the impression of a 
youth of high aims, his mind already set upon distinction. 
Lothrop, less serious than his friend, was of a generous 
nature, cordial, expansive, but also a good scholar with- 
out effort, and he, also, was not without ambition. In 
both men the ambition was gratified. Judge Bradley be- 
came one of the most eminent and honored citizens of 
the state in which he was educated and cast his lot, and 
Mr, Lothrop passed from the Michigan bar to one of the 
great foreign diplomatic posts of the country. 

Abraham Payne completed the group. In his case the 
child was father to the man. As a youth I recall the dry 
humor in which his views of men and things were dis- 
solved, a humor which affected his life and gave to his es- 
timate of the world an air of kindly half-indolent cynicism, 
as if, perhaps, life were not quite worth while. He, too, 
cherished an ambition with which his temperament was 
not in accord. In those days, he read Burke, and pon- 
dered political questions with youthful ardor, and smiled 
sympathetically at my brother's admiration for Emerson 
and his sympathy with " the transcendental movement." 
Payne cherished a deep and enduring loyalty to my 
brother's character and he in turn delighted in his friend's 
manly independence and persuasive humor, each recog- 
nizing a touch of genius in the other. 



74 Memories of Brown 

After their college days they seldom met. Payne pur- 
sued his professional career in Providence and my broth- 
er for many years lived in England. But until Payne 
died their interest in each other never declined. It seems 
to me upon Payne's part, as I recall it, not unlike that of 
Carlyle for Emerson. In one of his letters, Carlyle, who 
was always at close quarters with the wrangling world in 
general, says to Emerson substantially, " what are you 
doing up there in the empyrean ?" Payne could not es- 
cape his temperament ; and the ambition of his college 
days, like that of so great a multitude, was never gratified. 
It was curious to observe the men whom the state politi- 
cally honored, and not to see him among them. But his 
carelessness to restrain his wit, his courage of his opin- 
ions and the manliness of his bearing, with a shrewdness 
of observation and a broad intellectual and moral compre- 
hension of his time, made Abraham Payne as memorable 
a Rhode Island figure as those which he has kindly and 
pungently commemorated. 

It was while these three men were in college that the 
Alpha Delta Phi, one of the earhest, if not the earliest, of 
the later Greek letter societies, the modern prolific prog- 
eny of the Phi Beta Kappa, was founded by " the lamented 
Eells" at Hamilton, and a chapter was organized at 
Brown. Bradley, Lothrop, Payne and my brother were 
among the first members, and they were full of zeal, tem- 
pered by the smile and the humorous gibe of Payne. 
They promoted the higher objects of the society, how- 
ever, with serious devotion. The meetings, as became 
those of a mystic fraternity, were held at night, and I can 
still hear the bell in the Baptist tower with solemn and 
reproving clangor pealing forth the hour of twelve, and 
one, and two, while I awaiting my brother at home con- 
jured all kind of chimeras dire in the dead waist and mid- 
dle of the night ; so that the meetings of the Alpha Delta 



Memories of Brown 75 

Phi seemed to me a kind of Witches' Sabbath or Car- 
bonari conspiracy. 

This, I believe, is the view still entertained of those 
Greek midnight assemblies by some college faculties. 
But upon the delightful houses in which the societies 
now domesticate themselves, which have all the refined 
and luxurious aspects and appliances of city clubs, the 
fathers of the society whom I knew at Brown, regarding 
it as an arena of scholarly discipline and mental emula- 
tion, might gaze, as in Couture's picture of the Decadence 
of the Romans the austere elders of the Brutus and Cato 
type look upon the garlanded and carousing revellers. 
In the charming elegance of the society's modern house 
I can imagine the grave and earnest Bradley of those 
earlier years, asking whether it be a summer pavilion 
from the garden of the Academy where Plato taught and 
inspired or a pleasure house from Sybaris. I can also 
imagine the nimble witted Alpha Delt, or of any sister 
society, replying with the son of the merchant to his 
uncle who rebuked him for reaching the ofhce at ten 
o'clock in the morning when his father came at seven, 
" Yes, dear Uncle, tempora mutantur ; my revered parent, 
bless his memory, came at seven that I might come at 
ten ! " 

You see how dangerous it is to touch the stop of rem- 
iniscence in an old adopted son of Brown. You think to 
water a few plants of memory, and you are threatened 
with a freshet. " The waters are out " in a serious sense 
when you unsuspiciously raise the gates. To how many 
readers must the names I have mentioned be unknown ! 
" Reader, what if I have been playing with thee all this 
while .f^ Peradventure the very names, which I have sum- 
moned up before thee, are fantastic, unsubstantial, like 
Henry Pimpernal and old John Naps of Greece." But 
what realm is more thickly peopled with airy and invisi- 



76 



Memories of Brown 



ble forms than the corridors and walks of a college? 
What high hopes, what lofty ambitions, what generous 
purposes, were native here ! How much of great achieve- 
ment began in this studious seclusion. To the backward 
glance of how many a man conspicuous in public honor 
and activity are not these quiet and modest walks and 
buildings of Brown the seat of a happiness which even re- 
nown and the gratification of the ambition once ardently 
cherished here do not afford. 

To the older " Fellow " of the university undergoing 
the commencement orations in the historic church, the 
tone of the valedictorian may seem to be factitiously sad. 
The youth speaks from tradition, not from experience. 
But he speaks also with instinctive forecast, for it is the 
shadow of things unseen, but sure to be, that falls upon 
his spirit. Happily in every successive class which as- 
cends the steps of the graduating platform and in every 
valedictory oration there is something of deeper signifi- 
cance than the tone of sadness. It is that the class and 
its orator are the symbols of the renewed impulse of 
hope, faith and vigor with which undaunted youth forever 
quickens the world. 

George William Curtis, honorary, 1854. 




Memories of Brown 11 



In College with ^'Sunset" Cox 



THE following reminiscences of Samuel S. Cox, '46, 
speaker of the national house of representatives 
and minister to Turkey, have been gathered from 
various sources, including the sketch of his life 
written by his nephew, William V. Cox. 

In a letter to a sister, dated Brown University, Provi- 
dence, November 25, 1845, Mr. Cox gives his unique ex- 
perience as a temperance lecturer. He was then in his 
senior year. He writes : 

" There was to be a grand temperance oratorio (about 
60 singers), after the speaking (at Mechanics' Hall), and 
the house was densely crowded, mostly with females. 
The aisles were full — some 1500 or 2000 people present. 
I did not intend to speak — was standing up in the aisle 
with some students looking at the girls ; when someone 
came pushing through with a little trunk in his hand, de- 
claring he had to speak and must get through. ' Oho ! 
Buckeye,' says I. ' Hallo ! stranger,' says he. ' Bear, or 
I am no Buckeye,' says I. ' Right, young man — give us 
your hand — see this cane? John N. Bear on it.' 

" ' Cox is my name,' says I. The Buckeyes embrace — 
push through the crowd, Cox in the lead. Everybody 
staring. I told the president of the meeting who was 
present. He had heard of me, and said I must speak too, 
and introduced the Buckeye Blacksmith. Well, 1 was 
stirred up — made a speech of twenty minutes — intro- 
duced Bear with a gusto. He made a perfect roarer of a 
speech, astonishing the people considerably. He got up 



78 Memories of Brown 

a little respectability for me, after I had soft-soaped him — 
told him about my taking him with a habeas corpus or 
something in his intemperate days — said I was clerk of 
the court at Zanesville, etc., etc. Last Monday I had a 
special invitation to lecture. I signed the pledge, and as 
the doctor was away with Dr. Judson, I prepared myself 
well; spoke forty minutes to a very refined audience — 
was nicely complimented by the president — -but that is 
my last one for some time. Our exhibition comes off 
Saturday. We have been practising all the afternoon, 
and the way we are drilled ! " In the same letter Cox 
more than once expressed a longing for pumpkin pies, 
such as he had at home. " I must say," he writes to his 
sister, " if I have a failing it is pumpkin-pieward." 

Of another college experience he writes : 

" I made my debut here on the stage — spoke a part of 
my Fourier speech, which the professor did not like as to 
the sentiment, but which brought down two rounds of 
applause from the students. I never felt so elated in my 
life, my manner of speaking was so different and I put all 
my soul in it (as I had written it myself and consequently 
felt w^hat I said), and there was so much of the free and 
easy. Western stump-speech manner about it that it took. 
The professor told me not to speak any more such things 
as Fourierism, but said he saw some fine promise in my 
way of speaking. He did not know I wrote it, and as we 
are required to make selections from others till next term, 
he supposed it somebody else's. The students wanted to 
know where I got it, as there was considerable fun and 
novelty in it. I stopped once in the middle, having for- 
gotten the next sentence, but they commenced stamping, 
and it put me considerably out — and some, most fellows, 
would have been abashed and taken their seats, but I stood 
it and at last got through. So much for my entre ! They 
think here I am an odd genius. I don't visit anybody — 



Memories of Brown 79 

stick to my room — mind my own business — walk as 
straight as a lightning rod and as independent as a wood- 
chuck. I can put on all kinds of airs, and they will lay it 
all to Western manners and characteristics. They gen- 
erally suppose that we are mostly heathens out West, 
without refinement and taste for literature — and the 
specimens of Western students here are by no means 
flattering." 

His classmate Mr. Frank W. Anthony of Mattawan, 
Mich., describes this incident as follows : 

" The class had been trained for nearly two years by 
our prim and precise professor of rhetoric, Professor 
Gammell, into his peculiar and polished style of speaking 
and writing. S. S. had doubtless had triumphs at the 
crossroads schoolhouse of the West. You can imagine 
the effect of his first speech in the college class upon pro- 
fessor and students. It was the first stump speech any 
of us had heard. We all tried hard to control our risibles. 
It was impossible after a few sentences. I see now the 
determined look that came into the new student's face as 
the laugh grew louder and longer. It said, while he com- 
pleted his speech, ' laugh if you will, the power is in me 
and you shall yet respect it.' When completed he leaped 
from the platform, regardless of the steps, and made for 
his seat. As soon as Professor Gammell could control 
himself and the uproar, he said, ' It is customary. Cox, for 
the student to pause at the foot of the platform for criti- 
cism. We will excuse you this time. Next.' " 

Another classmate, the Rev. James C. Fletcher, writes : 

" Cox liked to take a hand even in his student days in 
addressing a crowd; and on one occasion he made a 
stump speech to the assembled Democrats in Providence, 
R. I., in connection with Thomas W. Dorr, who in 1842 
endeavored to change the old government of Rhode 
Island by forcible means — for which Dorr, being over- 



80 Memories of Brown 

whelmingly defeated at the polls and elsewhere, had to 
suffer in prison. The Democrats, as well as the old 
Whigs, were overwhelmingly against Dorr. Nevertheless, 
when agitation began in regard to liberating Dorr from 
the penitentiary, ' Sam ' (as we called him), with the pluck 
that always characterized him, took the part of the small 
party, demanding the pardoning of Dorr, and actually, to 
the chagrin of the faculty (all Anti-Dorrites) ' Sam ' ad- 
dressed the ' unterrified ' in the streets. ' Sam ' always 
took the part of the ' under dog ' in the fight." 

Dr. Charles R. Cullen of Gaines Mills, Va., writes : 
" We sat beside each other three years. While we were 
at Brown the Liberty party was forming and the Garri- 
sons were in full blast. In the Methodist Church (the 
only denomination at that time very radical) Abbey Kel- 
ley. Abbey Folsom, S. S. Foster and Wendell Phillips 
were to speak. They abused Dr. Wayland, who was car- 
rying on the controversy with Dr. Fuller on the subject 
of slavery, but could not tolerate the Garrison set. The 
doctor advised the students not to attend the meeting, as 
he knew they would commence by abusing himself, calling 
him anti-slavery hypocrite, etc. This made the whole 
body of students decide to go and take possession of the 
meeting — to allow the Abolitionists to speak fifteen min- 
utes and the students thirty minutes — to hiss them and 
applaud the students. Sam made a rousing speech — so 
did Dr. J. Wheaton Smith, now of Philadelphia. Phil- 
lips was severe on the students and told them they might 
be as silly as geese or venomous as serpents, he would 
speak if they stayed until midnight. We generally did 
for several nights." 

Cox freely gives his opinion of his associates. He says : 
" They judge of a fellow's respectability greatly by his 
dress here. . . . There are some monstrous mean fel- 
lows among the Yankees. Again there are some fine fel- 



Memories of Brown 



lows — good — open-hearted — warm-hearted students — 
in my class. Some of the best families of New England 
and the Union are my classmates. A grandson of Gen- 
eral Greene; a son of Commodore Morris, of Washington, 
D. C.; Dr. Wayland's son ; Professor Goddard's two sons." 

Dr. August Shurtleff of Brookline, Mass., writes: 

" Cox joined our class in the sophomore year, and won 
our hearts at once. He was one of the most genial, kind- 
hearted and witty men I ever knew. The professors all 
liked him, and when he asked funny questions sometimes, 
never reproved him. I think he was about medium as a 
scholar, certainly not less. He was always talking politics. 
I have a classbook in which my nearest friends wrote a 
sentiment over their autographs — it is before me now. 
He says he has always been celebrated as an unterrified 
Democrat ; that there was a tradition in his family that 
when he was born a scroll of fire was seen extending 
around the top of the bed-posts on which appeared the 
legend ' Vox Populi Suprema Lex.' He looked like and 
always reminded me of Oliver Wendell Holmes and like 
him showed his under teeth when he laughed, which was 
about all the time. He was a dear, good fellow." 

Honorable James B. Angell, president of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan and lately minister to Turkey, who en- 
tered Brown as a freshman just as Mr. Cox was begin- 
ning his senior year, gives the following account of the 
latter's college career : 

" Cox did not study for class rank, though his general 
scholarship was good. But no student worked more in- 
dustriously. He gave most of his time, however, to the 
study of English and American history and political econ- 
omy. He was, I think, much impressed, as most students 
were, by the instruction he received from President Way- 
land, especially by the free-trade doctrines set forth in the 
president's work on political economy. He seemed to be 



82 Memories of Brown 

preparing himself for entering on political life. He gave 
full promise of all he subsequently accomplished in his 
public career. When he left college, we all confidently 
expected that he would attain to great eminence in public 
life. His attractive social qualities made him a great 
favorite in college. He was brimful of innocent fun. He 
had considerable skill with his pencil in caricature. He 
was an agile participant in the sports of the ball ground. 
Wherever one met him, whether in athletic contests, in 
social life, or in intellectual tournaments, there was an 
abounding vitality and effervescent good nature in him, 
which made him a most stimulating and enjoyable com- 
panion. I am sure that all of his contemporaries in col- 
lege have cherished, as I cherished, the most pleasing 
recollections of their companionship with him in the days 
of his student life." 

Mr. Cox once told Mr. Brown of the editorial board 
of this volume of his close but brief acquaintance 
with Francis Wayland. He came to Brown in 1842 
from Ohio, then an almost exclusively agricultural state, 
and, like any breezy Western boy, always walked across 
the grass, paying no heed to paths. This custom of 
his wore unseemly lines in the front lawn and President 
Wayland had signs erected for all persons to keep 
off the grass and confine themselves to the gravel paths. 
This made no difference to young Cox, as he continued 
to run across the grass until one day he ran plumb into 
the arms of the president. Seizing the delinquent with 
the frown of Jove lowering around those shaggy eyebrows, 
Dr. Wayland sternly asked, " Did you see that sign ? " 
" Yes, sir." " Did you read it ? " " Yes, sir." " Why did 
you violate my orders } " Cox thought a second and re- 
plied, " Well, the only reason I can think of is that I came 
from a state where there's more grass than gravel." 
President Wayland relaxed and said, " Young man, I ex- 
pect we shall hear from you after you leave here." 



Memories of Brown 83 

When President Angell 
was a Student 



MY college life covered the period from 1845 ^^ 
1849. In these days, when the faculty num- 
bers nearly a hundred, it is difificult to com- 
prehend how a faculty of seven men carried on 
the institution with vigor and success. I need hardly say 
that each one of the seven was a man of force and was 
admirably qualified for his special work. 

The youngest was Professor Lincoln. He had recently 
returned from Germany, where he had pursued extended 
studies in the classics and in philosophy. We had the 
pleasure of reading Livy with him while he was preparing 
his edition of that author. He was therefore brimful of 
enthusiasm on the subject and fired us with much of his 
own spirit. Although we were studying a dead language, 
no classroom was more alive than his. He was intolerant 
of sluggishness or laziness, and often rebuked it with a 
stinging word. " I have forgotten," said an indolent fellow 
one day in reply to a question. " Forgotten," was the 
sharp retort of the teacher, " Did you ever know ?" One 
answer given him amused him and the class as affording 
rich material for his notes on Livy. We were reading 
the twenty-first chapter, which describes the passage of 
the Alps by Hannibal. The professor asked one of the 
class why Hannibal had the elephants with him. With 
great promptness the answer came " to draw up his 
cannon." The youth who made the reply was so chaffed 
by his classmates that he left Brown and went to another 
college. 



84 



Memories of Brown 



Professor Boise, who afterwards at the University of 
Michigan and the Chicago Theological Seminary won so 
high a reputation, had charge of the Greek. He mani- 
fested the same philological acumen which always distin- 
guished him. But he seemed to us at that time to dwell 
too much on the minutiae of grammar, and not enough on 
the beauties of Greek literature. The current saying 

among us was that "he 
would die for an en- 
clitic." But it is im- 
possible to over-state the 
influence which he and 
his colleague Professor 
Frieze exerted in the 
West through their 
labors at the University 
of Michigan in diffusing 
love for the study of the 
ancient classics. 

The librarian. Pro- 
fessor Charles C. Jewett, 
who had been in Europe 
purchasing books for the 
library, had charge of the 
instruction in French in 
my sophomore year. He 
was greatly beloved by 
the students. It was 
with much regret that 
we saw him accept the post of librarian of the Smithsonian 
Institution. He afterwards became the librarian of the 
Boston Public Library, and died at a comparatively early 
age. 

Fortunately his place in the classroom was taken by 
George W. Greene, the well-known historical scholar. 




Professor Charles C. Jewett, 1835 
University Librarian 1842-48 



Memories of Brown 85 

His life had been chiefly spent in Europe. The revolu- 
tions of 1848 were raging while we were under him. 
Greatly to our delight and I may add to our profit his 
time in the classroom, under the provocation of questions 
from us, was chiefly spent in discussing European affairs, 
and especially in describing the eminent persons who 
were conducting the military or political movements. 
Not a few of these he knew personally. None of us who 
hung upon his lips in these hours can ever forget his 
narratives. He had the art of the best French raconteur. 
I confess that my own intense interest in European 
politics and history dates from the hours I sat under the 
spell of George Greene's fine talk. And who of our Amer- 
ican writers has surpassed him in a pure and flowing 
English style.? I am sure the inspiration of the contact 
with so finished a scholar was lost on but few of the class, 
even though the demands for the details of recitation 
were not very exacting. 

Professor Gammell had charge of our writing and 
speaking and also of the work in history. He maintained 
the tradition of pure and chaste writing which, established 
under Professor Goddard, has I am happy to believe 
never been lost at Brown. He was most exacting in his 
demands upon the writers, and no one willingly subjected 
himself to the humor and the stings of his pungent 
criticism. Even those who could not at the time receive 
them with complacency lived to recognize in them with 
gratitude " the wounds of a friend." No teacher rejoiced 
more than he in the success of his students in life or 
watched their careers with more interest. His course in 
history was fuller than that at any other college except 
Harvard. It was chiefly devoted to English constitutional 
history, though some time was given to American con- 
stitutional history. It called for solid and fruitful work. 

According to the custom of those days in all the 



86 Memories of Brown 

colleges one man was called to give instruction in several 
sciences. This man was Professor Chace. He taught 
chemistry, geology, botany and physiology. At times he 
also conducted classes in Butler's Analogy. He really 
ought to have been assigned to the teaching of philosophy. 
His natural bent was towards metaphysics. His mind 
was singularly acute, his mental processes were most 
logical ; his style of expression was absolutely lucid. His 
instruction was therefore highly appreciated, though from 
the brevity of the courses he could give us only elementary 
instruction in science. Laboratories had not then been 
introduced anywhere in this country. His opinion on 
any subject carried great weight with the students. It 
was generally believed that no one could outwit him by 
any trick or device. Therefore the vain attempt was 
seldom made. 

Professor Caswell, who gave instruction in mathematics, 
astronomy and natural philosophy, had of all the teachers 
the strongest hold on the affections of the students. To 
him every one who needed sympathy or counsel in- 
stinctively went. His great warm heart drew all to him. 
He had the gift of making mathematics attractive to most 
students, and even tolerable to that inconsiderable num- 
ber who had no gift or no taste for the study. When the 
vote on recommending for degrees was to be taken, he 
looked with abundant charity on those who had never 
been able to pass their examinations in mathematics, say- 
ing amiably, " Let them pass. The conies are a feeble 
folk." The impress of his beautiful character upon all the 
students was never forgotten or entirely effaced. 

President Wayland taught us intellectual and moral 
philosophy, political economy and (in a brief course) the 
evidences of Christianity. I have met not a few of the 
men whom the world has called great. But I have seldom 
met a man who so impressed me with the weight of his per- 



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sonality as did Dr. Wayland. After making due allowance 
for the fact that I was but a youth when I sat under his 
teaching, I still think that by his power of intellect, of will 
and of character he deserved to be ranked with the 
strongest men our country has produced. It may be said 
of him as of his friend, Mark Hopkins, that his published 




View of Providence from the North, 1849 



writings do not adequately represent the man as his pupils 
knew him. As a teacher he was unsurpassed. His 
power of analyzing a subject into its simple elements and 
his power of happy illustration, often humorous, were 
equally marked. He permitted the largest liberty of 
questioning and discussion, but he insisted that the 
student should state his point with precision. Frequently 
by doing this the student answered his own question. 
One-fourth of my classmates were Southerners. When 
we came to the subject of slavery in our study of moral 
philosophy we discussed it for three weeks. 



88 Memories of Brown 

The doctor's son, afterwards known as the Rev. H. L. 
Wayland, inherited his wit from his father, and often 
entertained us by his amusing questions propounded to 
his father in a most solemn manner. Once he stretched 
his tall frame to his full height and with a deep voice re- 
marked, "I should like to make an inquiry." "Well, my 
son, go on," responded his father. " I observe, sir," said 
the son, "that in the treatise we are now studying the 
learned author says so and so," quoting the passage. The 
class seeing that fun was at hand were all prepared to 
explode with laughter. "Well, my son, what of that?" 
said the doctor. " Well, sir, I recall the fact that in a 
noted treatise by the same learned author, entitled 'On 
the Limitations of Human Responsibility,' he remarked 
so and so," quoting the passage. Obviously the passages 
were contradictory of each other. The class and the 
doctor could no longer restrain their laughter. The son 
was the only serious person in the room. We were in 
glee at seeing how the father was apparently cornered. 
We did not foresee how wise and how characteristic was 
his method of escape. As soon as he could get a hearing 
he remarked, " It only shows, my son, that since the 
learned author wrote the first book, he has learned some- 
thing more." I say this answer was characteristic because 
no man ever held his view more open to the vision of new 
truth than he. 

The discipline of the college was wholly in his hands. 
In administering it he was stern, at times imperious. But 
no graduate of his time ever failed to gain from him higher 
ideals of duty or lasting impulses to a noble and strenuous 
life. He said so many wise things to us and uttered them 
in so pithy and sententious a style that one could never 
forget them. I presume my experience is like that of 
others, when I say that hardly a week of my life has passed 
in which I have not recalled some of his apt sayings and 



Memories of Brown 89 

to my great advantage. Is there any better proof than 
that of the power of a teacher over his pupils? 

The recitations were conducted in a manner which fur- 
nished a remarkable training to the memory. The 
first man called on was asked to give an analysis of the 
lesson assigned ; the second man then took up the dis- 
cussion as given in the textbook or in the lecture of 
the previous day; the third, when called on, without 
prompting followed the second, and so on with the 
rest. It was believed by the students that a pretty 
exact verbal reproduction of the text was credited with 
the highest marks, consequently the best scholars culti- 
vated the verbal memory so that they gained great facility 
in reproducing a text. I think that when in our junior 
year we had from twelve to fifteen pages of Smythe's 
Lectures on History as a lesson, at least half a dozen men 
in the class would in two hours prepare themselves to 
recite the whole of the lesson with substantial fidelity to 
the text. I think this practice was carried to excess. At 
the same time the power thus acquired has been of great 
service in life to many men. I ought not to leave the im- 
pression that ideas were not esteemed of more worth than 
words. The utmost freedom of asking questions and of 
discussion was permitted in the classroom, unless it was 
obvious that the liberty was abused. 

The two debating societies, the Philermenian and the 
United Brothers, played a large part in the intellectual 
life of the college in my time. Electioneering for securing 
members was carried on with such vigor during the 
earlier weeks of the year that the freshmen had scarcely 
time left for their regular duties. I have heard many an 
old graduate say that he regarded the benefit derived from 
the society to which he belonged as equal in value to the 
help secured in the classroom. Very careful preparation 
was made by the ablest debaters and the honors they won 



90 



Memories of Brown 



were highly cherished. Mr. Samuel S. Cox, who was a 
senior in 1845-46, was the most brilliant debater of his time 
in college. I doubt whether in his long congressional 
career he made abler speeches than some to which we 
listened from him in the United Brothers' Hall. The 
society halls occupied the fourth story of the north end of 







Professor James B. Angell, IE 
(Taken about 1860) 



Hope College. It is a most promising sign that interest 
in debating has revived in the colleges. 

We played football and baseball in the old-fashioned 
way in the rear of Hope College, but merely among our- 
selves. In football, the seniors and sophomores were 
pitted against the juniors and freshmen, and all who chose 
took part. 

Students rarely went into society in the city before 



Memories of Brown 91 

their senior year, and not many even then. We found 
our social deUghts in our college intimacies. The num- 
ber of students was so small, about 140, that one could 
easily know them all. Most of us took our meals in 
Commons Hall, the room now used as a classroom on the 
first floor in the middle of the east side of University Hall. 
Each class had its own table. If the fare was not very 
sumptuous, it was not costly, and the conversation was 
lively. Occasionally it became so boisterous as to stir the 
amiable steward, Mr. Elliott, known familiarly to us as 
" Pluto," to bring down his big bread-knife with a loud 
resounding whack on his table, and to shout with his 
husky voice, " Order, order." I cannot say that the 
usages in Commons Hall were conducive to elegant 
manners. But the plain meals were spiced with the flavor 
of excellent companionship. 

As we did not mingle much with the outside world, the 
questions which we sharply discussed with each other 
were fortunately largely connected with our studies and 
reading. We were divided into advocates and critics of 
Carlyle, of Coleridge, of Macaulay, of Emerson and of 
others whose works were then freshly appearing, and 
were read with avidity. I cannot resist the impression 
that we took a more vital interest in literary discussions 
than is apparent to me in student life in our day. Ques- 
tions of politics and of political economy seem to me to 
absorb the attention more and questions of literature and 
philosophy less than in those days. Whether, if this is 
so, the change is a gain or a loss, need not be argued here. 

But one thing is certain. Nowhere could college life 
have been more enjoyable than it was at Brown in the 
period under consideration. We students were drawn so 
closely together, we were so little distracted by outside 
life, we all trod so exactly the same path in our studies, 
we could each know the whole body of our companions 



92 



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I 



so intimately, that our lives flowed on as in a stream, and 
the dearest friendships of life were cemented there. 

I believe that no college in the country furnished a 
better training to its students at that time. The careers 
of the men who were then undergraduates are the best 
proof. To mention only a few of my college mates, Chief 
Justice Durfee, Judge Franklin J. Dickman of Ohio, and 
Honorable S. S. Cox, of the class of 1846; Professor 
George P. Fisher and Professor James P. Boyce, of the 
class of 1847; Governor Murrah of Texas, of the class of 
1848; Benjamin F. Thurston and James Tillinghast and 
Julian Hartridge and Rowland Hazard, of my own class. 
Professor James O. Murray and Edward L. Pierce, the 
biographer of Sumner, of the class of 1850; and Professor 
Diman, of the class of 1851 ; — the mother that produced 
such sons need not fear to ask us to tell of those days 
when with scanty resources and a faculty of seven she 
performed the great work which fell to her. 

James Burrill Angell, iS/j-g. 




Memories of Brown 93 



Riding a Professor "Pickaback" 



ONE of the mildest and most chivalrous of gentle- 
men was Professor Romeo Elton. A rapscallion, 
such as only the higher education can produce, 
made a bet with his chum that he would ride 
the professor pickaback downstairs, three times, in Hope 
College. The first and second trips were duly accom- 
plished, the student apologizing profusely as they came 
into the light. Finally on the third occasion, the pro- 
fessor spoke courteously, though in rather petulant tone, 
" Very excusable, sir ! But it must not be repeated." 
Dr. Wayland's humor was frequently exercised. Col- 
lege diseases of certain types are often epidemic. Once 
in the chapel, he referred to these recurring cases of ill- 
ness in terms well understood. " It will be necessary," 
said he, " for us^to rusticate some of these gentlemen, 
lest they die on our hands." 

He liked to tell a story, even at the expense of his own 
profession; and he rallied a habit of certain worthy 
clergymen who were fond of instructing the Almighty in 
prayer. At the funeral of an old maid, the doctor de- 
scribed a didactic enthusiast as he said with great unction, 
" O Lord ! Thou knowest this woman had not a child — 
nay, more, O Lord ! — Thou knowest she had not even 
a grandchild." 

William Bab cock Wee den, 18^2. 



94 Memories of Brown 

Dr. Boardman's Recollections 
of President Wayland 



I WAS so fortunate as to graduate from Brown Univer- 
sity the same year in which Dr. Wayland graduated; 
the difference being that he graduated as president 
of the university, and I only as an undergraduate. 

President Wayland was a most remarkable man, in 
every way; physically, intellectually, ethically. His ma- 
jestic presence, his massive frame, his shaggy eyebrows 
overhanging his penetrating eyes, were most awe-inspir- 
ing. Notwithstanding this portentous presence, he was 
very kind and tender-hearted. He had, too, a keen sense 
of the ludicrous which endeared him to the students. It 
is said that at the chapel prayers, which in my time were 
held at daybreak, he had the habit of closing one eye and 
keeping the other open to observe the students. I once 
saw him go into the room of a delinquent student, in bed 
asleep beyond the proper time, and gently tickle his feet 
with a feather to awaken him. 

On one occasion, my fun-loving comrades dared me 
to enter the classroom in one of Dr. Adoniram Judson's 
collars, which came up to my eyes. The president 
fastened that majestic gaze upon the ridiculous linen, and 
sternly said, 

" What fashion of collar is that you have on sir ? " 

" It is my step-father's. Dr. Judson's, sir." 

" I apologize," he retorted, "pray wear it every day of 
your life." 



Mem 



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95 



Along with other undergraduates, who were provoked 
by the discipHne of some of the faculty against certain 
students, which was termed a persecution, I was once led 
into a state which resulted in a fit of boyish determina- 
tion to leave the college the next day. The president, as 
he was returning from one of his classes, met me on the 
street, took me by the arm, and said grimly, " Before you 
go, will you kindly honor me with a call ? I shall be at 
home between 3 and 4 o'clock this afternoon." 

It is needless to say the incipient insurrection was ended. 

George Dana Boardman, 18^2. 




96 Memories of Brown 

President Magill's Memories 
of Brown 



I SHALL never forget my first meeting with Dr. Fran- 
cis Wayland. It was in the autumn of the year 1851. 
I had finished my freshman year at Yale the previous 
commencement, and been admitted to the sophomore 
class. I read at that time the doctor's pamphlet on The 
New College System of Electives, which he presented 
in a manner that attracted me, just after his return from a 
visit to Europe. I saw in it a way, as I thought, of secur- 
ing my A. B. degree at Brown in '52, instead of graduating 
with my class at Yale in '54, as I had completed the full 
mathematical course required before I entered college and 
could give my whole attention to Latin and Greek, almost 
the only other real essentials in a college course at that 
time. I called on the doctor, at his home, at the head 
of College street, and was introduced into his study, on 
the first floor, in the southeast corner of the house. He 
rose as I entered and met me in the middle of the room. 
He did not ask me to take a seat, but the interview was 
all held standing in the middle of the room, a practice, I 
was told, of his to prevent too long interviews with a busy 
man. I stated my situation as a member of the sophomore 
class at Yale, and showed him, in as few words as possible, 
what I desired to do. Looking at me keenly with those 
dark, deep-set eyes, from under his shaggy eyebrows (he 
had a retreating forehead, with eyebrows projecting far 
over his eyes), he remarked in a very decided and rather 



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forbidding tone, "Young man, what you propose to do 
is possible, but not probable." " Well," I replied, " if it 
is possible I will try it with your permission." He gave 
the desired permission, and I was about to take my leave, 
when he suddenly added, " There is one more matter to 
be settled. Students are all required to attend church on 
Sundays, and they choose what- 
ever church they please at the 
opening of the year, and that 
church they must regularly attend. 
Which one will you choose.?" 
Remembering that our branch of 
Friends was not represented in 
New England, I hesitated a mo- 
ment whether to choose the 
Friends meeting, or the Unitarian 
Church or the doctor's own ser- 
service which was held regularly 
then in Manning Hall over the 
library. • Seeing my hesitation, 

he added in that stern manner of his that almost fright- 
ened me, though I was not easily frightened, " Young 
man, when a man has lost his religion, I tell him Provi- 
dence is a good place to come and find it, for we have all 
sorts here." To this I replied at once, " I will go and hear 
you, doctor," and he took my name as one to attend 
service in Manning Hall, and I went regularly through 
my course at Brown, and never had occasion to regret 
my choice. 




Edward Hicks Magill, 1852 



In the spring of '52 our class was reciting to the doctor 
our lesson in moral philosophy. We usually had about 
ten or twelve pages, and the manner of recitation was 
this : The doctor first called upon some member of the 
class to give a synopsis of the lesson. A perfect lesson 



^^ Memories of Brown 

consisted in naming all of the topics in their regular order 
without mistake, and with no suggestion from the presi- 
dent. Then the next man in order was called, and he 
must take up and discuss the first topic, the next man the 
next, and so on, till the close ; when the doctor himself 
would enlarge upon the subject, giving very interesting 
and suggestive talks, but these were rarely intermingled 
with the recitation, he doing his talking after we had all 
been heard without interruption. If the doctor had to 
question a student to get him to clear up properly a point 
not fully discussed, that always counted against a student 
in his marks. We were marked on a scale of 20, the 
highest mark being 20. This practice was the same in 
Professor Caswell's classes in mathematics, and somewhat 
the same in classes generally in my time at Brown. A 
member of the class, whom I will call A, was often late 
in reaching the doctor's classroom. One morning he 
came in late and took his seat just as the man above him 
finished his topic, and the doctor, with a somewhat quiz- 
zical expression, called upon A for the next topic. He 
rose, looked confused, and then remarked that he had 
not heard the topic just discussed. Without a word of 
censure or look of disapproval, and without a suggestive 
remark, the doctor simply said, " The next will proceed," 
and A sat down in confusion, while the next took up the 
required topic. The recitation went on as usual, and it 
is needless to add that that lateness of A was his last, at 
least in the doctor's classes. The doctor was a man of 
few words when, in his judgment, action would better 
serve the purpose intended. 

On one occasion, for some reason, the doctor's class in 
moral philosophy seemed less interested than usual, and 
showed a listlessness and perhaps a disposition to talk 
which was quite unusual in his classes, where good order 






Memories of Brown 99 

and attention mostly prevailed. The doctor suddenly 
stopped in the mist of an explanation of a difficult point, 
and said, " Gentlemen, perhaps you think I am making 
no sacrifice in giving my time to you, but I can tell you 
that you are much mistaken in thinking so ; instead of 
devoting myself here to some score or so of unapprecia- 
tive young men, I might be writing books, and have, in- 
stead of you, an audience of many thousands." His calm 
and decided manner, and especially his pained expression, 
which I have never forgotten, made as much impression 
upon us as his earnest words. The idle and listless 
greatly regretted the interruption, and were instantly 
called to order by that pained expression, and stopped at 
the close of the class to make ample apologies. While 
the doctor was not, at all times, equally inspiring, he en- 
joyed the most unbounded confidence and respect of all 
who were privileged to listen to his teaching. 

The doctor's examinations, which were generally in 
writing, were conducted in a manner that clearly showed 
his confidence in his men, and made them, with very 
rare exceptions indeed, worthy of that confidence. In- 
stead of having an extra teacher in the room to aid in 
watching, to see that no cheating was done in examina- 
tion, and placing the teacher in the rear to watch them 
from behind while he kept a sharp lookout in front, he 
never called in any aids, and left the room himself quite 
frequently while the examination proceeded, leaving his 
men alone. At the end of the examination he required 
each man to write and sign this statement: "In the 
preparation of this paper I have neither given nor received 
assistance." I believe that the confidence thus reposed 
in his class has borne much good fruit in after years. 
As this course was far less common then than today, I 
have often referred to it with satisfaction. 



1 00 Memories of Brown 

Professor George I. Chace was my professor of chem- 
istry during my course in Brown. His lectures on chem- 
istry were to me remarkably clear, and his careful synop- 
tical review of each lecture contributed much to this 
result, and aided us in fixing them in our memory. The 
consequence was that most students, at all attentive, suc- 
ceeded well in his "quizzes." When anyone did not, it 
was usually from inattention, and the professor had little 
patience with idle and inattentive students. One student, 
who had often tried the patience of the professor, was 
undergoing an examination upon some chemical test. 
The question was whether indigo would float or sink in a 
certain solution. The student in his explanation said that 
the indigo floated or sunk, he did not remember which, 
but he knew that it was one way or the other. " One 
way or the other," exclaimed the professor, quite losing 
his patience for once, " Everything in life is one way or 
the other^ and what you come to college for is Xo find out 
which way it is!' It is needless to say that the dullard 
was too much overcome to continue his examination. 



Professor John L. Lincoln was another well remembered 
member of Dr. Wayland's able and efficient faculty. I 
have always regarded him as the best teacher of Latin 
that I ever had. He was strict and scholarly, but always 
kind and courteous in his manner with his students. A 
careless fellow whose lessons were rarely, if ever, well pre- 
pared, rose to recite the familiar ode of Horace in which 
he congratulates himself on finishing a book of his odes, 
opening with the well-known words, " Exegi monumentum 
sere perennius." (" I have raised a monument more 
lasting than brass,") and mistaking the egi of exegi for a 
part of the verb edo, " to eat," he began briskly, " I have 
eaten a monument harder than brass," whereupon the 



Memories of Brown 101 

professor quickly but courteously remarked, " That will 
do. You may sit down and digest it." 

I did not myself witness the above, but heard it as- 
cribed to Professor Lincoln, and although different from 
his usual courteous manner, I have no reason to doubt it. 

Sometime after the resignation of President Wayland, 
and the appointment of the Rev. Barnas Sears in his 
place, having the care of Dr. Sears's two sons in my class 
in the high school, the doctor invited me and a few other 
gentlemen to meet Edward Everett, on the occasion of 
his visit to the university. We were shown through the 
different buildings, and the then modern improvements 
by the introduction of scientific studies, which Dr. Way- 
land had done so much to promote, were pointed out. 
We were, I think, in one of the rooms of the then new 
science building erected on the grounds, when Mr. 
Everett was called upon for a speech. He spoke, of 
course, in the highest terms of Dr. Wayland, and of the 
bold innovations that he had made in the old college cur- 
riculum, and we all felt that when he came to speak of his 
successor he had a difficult task before him, but, as always, 
our great American orator was equal to the occasion, and 
turning toward Dr. Sears, with one of his inimitably 
graceful gestures, he added, calling Vergil to his aid, "And 
the golden branch furnished ^neas, as a species of en- 
chanter's wand, plucked from the bough, that brought 
forth another, whenever a branch was plucked from it," 
and added, " Prima avulso, non deficit alter'' 

Edward Hicks Magill, 18^2. 



102 Memories of Brown 



Student Pranks in the Fifties 



IN the early fifties we had few athletic sports, or in 
fact anything to work off the surplus energy of 
a boy; consequently, there was more mischief and 
innocent deviltry going on than at the present day. 
A few incidents come to mind. Under Professor Greene 
in modern languages our classroom was in the rear of 
University Hall on the first story and one warm day in 
summer the windows being open it was prearranged to 
have a small dog in the room who was fond of chasing a 
ball. One was thrown in repeatedly through the open 
window and of course the small dog went for it each time. 
At another time during the winter some of the boys threw 
some asafoetida down the register and it was quite fra- 
grant. The professor remarked that he perceived a very 
disagreeable odor in the room, but if we could stand it he 
could also. 

Professor Caswell was one of God's noblemen and very 
popular with his classes. In our recitation-room the 
seats were raised on three sides of the room. One day 
we made arrangements at the commencement of the reci- 
tation to cross our legs and all swing them in unison. 
The professor remarked, " Young gentlemen, mathe- 
matics does not consist in swinging the legs." One morn- 
ing he called on me to recite and in a moment he re- 
marked, " I beg your pardon, I called upon you yester- 
day — next." 

Professor Lincoln was very popular and just in every 
way. On one occasion a boy was rendering his transla- 



Memories of Brown 



103 



tion in Latin and after he had finished the professor re- 
marked quietly that it was a very " smart " translation, 
but that he had ridden the " pony " too accurately. 

During our sophomore year two freshmen boasted that 
no " sophs " could duck them, that they had a club at the 

head of their bed and 
that their visitors would 
get it hot and heavy. 
They bragged so much 
that five of us, who 
were often banded to- 
gether, thought it our 
duty to give them a lit- 
tle cold water. It was 
a fine December night 
when one of our crowd 
came into my room 
and said, " Let us duck 
those fellows to-night." 
We gathered the others 
and got two pails full of 
water from the well and 
a four-foot stick of 
wood and quietly went 
up to " Pandemonium " 
(the name given the 
fourth story of University Hall) to room number 56. At 
a signal two broke in the door with the stick, the writer 
went in first and pulled down the bedclothes, and the two 
others each gave them a pail of water. They did not 
wake until the water struck them, and the club so nicely 
whittled out was of no use. 

At the north end of " Pandemonium" roomed a sopho- 
more who had rendered himself very obnoxious while we 
were freshmen. He had a box-stove in his room, as wood 




Lemuel H. Elliott 
Registrar, 1828-1864 



104 Memories of Brown 

was in use at that time. One evening he missed his stove 
and went around inquiring if any one had seen it. Of 
course no one was able to impart any information, but the 
following morning he found it on the ground under his 
window, a fit subject for the junk-dealer. 

Frequently we would make a call on a freshman, each 
of us with a pipe or cigar, and we could tell at once from 
his attitude toward his unwelcome visitors whether he was 
a proper subject to " smoke out." Occasionally a bonfire 
would be started on the back campus and the cry of fire 
would rout out the fire company. They appreciated the 
joke and we always gave them three hearty cheers, which 
were returned with the same good feeling. One day we 
thought we would screw the pulpit doors in Manning 
Hall together so that Dr. Wayland could not enter the 
pulpit. We were all on hand for prayers the following 
morning, when to our astonishment the doctor walked 
into the pulpit as usual. A few^ weeks afterwards one of 
our number was in Registrar Elliott's ofifice and " Pluto," 
little dreaming that he was talking with one of the partici- 
pants, remarked that by chance he thought he would 
look into the pulpit one morning, which was not his usual 
custom, and found the doors screwed together, which de- 
fect he had immediately repaired. After that he religi- 
ously examined them every morning. Other student 
pranks which I remember were wrapping the college bell 
in cloth so that it would not ring, leading a horse to the 
top floor of University Hall in order to make suggestions 
to the college officers as to how to get it down, and rolling 
a cannon-ball the length of the long hallways in the old 
college building. 

No student was allowed to attend the theatres or leave 
the city without permission. Once I had my ticket bought 
to hear Jenny Lind on her first appearance in Provi- 
dence. By permission of my father, but contrary to the 



Memories of Brown 1 05 

wishes of Dr. Wayland, I went, however, and the result 
was seventy demerits, the first I had received in nearly 
two years. 

It was the custom for the professors to call at the 
students' rooms sometime during the evening, as it was 
against the rule to go out without permission. There was 
one professor whose delight it was to find the boys out. 
He would sometimes go outside the building and notice 
that a room was dark, and then call. We would collect in 
the rooms of his division and turn the lights out when he 
was sure to call, but to his surprise and disappointment 
he would find us in. This was in University Hall. Some 
of us did not like this method of supervision and changed 
our rooms to Hope College, where we were under Pro- 
fessor Porter, one of the most honorable men that ever 
drew the breath of life. One evening he called at our 
rooms and remarked that Dr. Wayland had given him 
orders not only to call but to report to him how often he 
did call and that it was altogether against his wish or de- 
sire to do so. We never left our rooms without asking 
his permission. He placed us on our honor and we did 
not wish to betray the confidence he placed in us. He 
did not remain long at Brown but returned to Yale, much 
to the regret of those with whom he came in contact. 

The famous rebellion took place, I think, in 1852. For 
some time the two large societies, the Philermenian and 
the United Brothers, had been dwindling in their Satur- 
day afternoon meetings. A petition was sent to the fac- 
ulty requesting permission to hold these meetings on Fri- 
day evenings instead. It was signed by nearly every 
member of the university, but greatly to our disappoint- 
ment it was rejected. A vote was taken in each of the 
societies to meet the following Friday evening and ac- 
cordingly a large meeting was held ; but very soon a loud 
rap at the door was heard and when it was opened there 



1 06 Memories of Brown 

stood Dr. Wayland. In his stern heavy voice he said, if 
I remember correctly, these words, " By the authority 
vested in me, I request you to disperse as soon as possible 
under pain of suspension from college." This request 
was very soon obeyed. On the following morning his 
bust, which had been recently made for the university, 
was found dangling from the tree situated at the north- 
west corner of the chapel, and feeling ran very high 
among the students. The final result of the above unfor- 
tunate affair was that at the end of the term several of the 
students left for other colleges. The bust was taken 
down by the college authorities and thenceforth disap- 
peared from view. I have later learned that Dr. Way- 
land, who was much pained and chagrined at the per- 
formance, gave the bust to Reuben A. Guild, the librarian 
of the college, with the request that it should be kept 
from his sight forever. Dr. Guild stored it in the base- 
ment of the old library, where it remained for many years, 
until the new library was built, when Dr. Guild resusci- 
tated it and had it cleaned up and repainted. Just before 
his death, he presented it to the Rhode Island Historical 
Society, in whose gallery it now is. 

Willimn Smith Granger, 18^4. 



Memories of Brown 107 



A Flagrant Failing 



ONE little incident lingers in my memory which il- 
lustrates the guilelessness of Dr. Wayland, and 
which, however often repeated, never appeared 
to awaken his suspicion. 
There was, in the class of '55, an individual who was ex- 
ceedingly shaky in the subjects of intellectual and moral 
philosophy. As in the process of daily questioning the 
circle appeared to be approaching him, he would lean for- 
ward nervously and whisper to a near-by student " Quick, 
ask him a question." As the student thus requested 
would have been the last to be suspected of collusion, the 
doctor would smile most graciously, tip back in his chair, 
place his feet on the rounds, spread his bandanna hand- 
kerchief on his knees, and proceed to discourse to us for 
several minutes. _ The weak-kneed individual of the class 
breathed more freely, and the danger for that day was 
passed. 

The doctor, however, had one bad habit for a college 
president, — that of tobacco chewing. It was too flagrant a 
failing not to be attacked, so at one of the semi-annual 
exhibitions there appeared on the "mock programmes" 
prepared for the occasion the announcement that " Dr. 
Wayland, with his accustomed accuracy, will now snuff a 
candle with tobacco juice at a distance of five paces." 

William H. Pabodie, 18^^. 



108 Memories of Brown 



Painting the President's Horse 




R. WAYLAND never spoke dis- 
paragingly of any statement or 
opinion of a student, but sought 
to have him show his abihty to 
prove the idea that he advanced. 
In his moral philosophy lectures, 
so remarkable in presenting great truths, he was accus- 
tomed to allude to the Proverbs of Solomon as proving their 
divine origin by the wonderful use of the small words in con- 
cise expressions that did not admit of any double mean- 
ing. He always encouraged the freest discussion with 
honest criticism on all subjects. Once in the class, a 
student said that he differed from the doctor and did not 
think it required any special effort or the exercise of genius 
to add a chapter to the Proverbs we already had. The 
doctor simply said, " We shall be glad to have you pre- 
pare an additional chapter, and I will call on you for it 
at the close of the next lecture." Accordingly he asked 
for it, but it was not read. It remains to this day the 
" Unwritten Chapter of the Proverbs." 

While Dr. Wayland enforced discipline, he preserved 
the individuality of the student and made him feel that 
his success depended upon his submission to the law 
which made obedience a virtue. A marked example of 
his methods was the manner in which he dealt with the 
student who painted his horse. He had a most beautiful 
bay saddle horse which was kept in the barn across the 
lawn in the rear of the students' rooms and in sight of all 



Memories of Brown 1 09 

the students who were on that side. It was one of the 
duties of the hostler to water the horse and groom him 
there, offering to the students an unexpected opportunity 
for sport. One of them, who never entrusted his secret 
to anyone, conceived the idea of a hippodrome, in which 
the doctor's horse would be conspicuous. One Friday 
night he procured some white paint and stealthily painted 
the horse like a zebra. The hostler, on unlocking the 
barn and discovering the transformation, closed the door, 
turned the key and reported to the doctor. He asked, 
" Has anyone seen the animal? " " No, sir," replied the 
hostler. " Well, you have acted very shrewdly. Feed and 
water him well. Do not speak of it to anyone and we 
will find out who did it." 

He then asked his sons to tell him the name of the 
first student that said the word " horse." It was the next 
Friday afternoon, while playing on the campus, that a 
young man running along asked the boys there, "Where 
is your father's horse } " They answered that they did 
not know, but informed their father of the incident. Dr. 
Wayland immediately wrote the young man a note invit- 
ing him to come to his room at a quarter to eight o'clock 
that evening. It was quite an honor to be thus noticed, 
and he was on hand promptly. The doctor was writing, 
and turning up his eyes said, " Good evening, my son. 
Excuse me till I finish this paragraph." Sitting back in 
his chair, he said, " I wrote you to know where you got 
the paint that you used on my horse." The whole thing 
was called up so suddenly that the culprit could only tell 
him the street and number. 

The doctor replied, " It is now a week since your artistic 
work, and the paint is dried on, but you can use turpen- 
tine and clean it off. John will bring the horse out to the 
pump at nine o'clock to-morrow morning and help you do 
it." 







M. 



emortes Oi 



B 



rown 



Not another word was said about it. He turned the 
conversation upon the boy's studies and his college course, 
and encouraged him in his work. The story soon became 
known around the campus, and some time later in his 
recitation-room Dr. Wayland said, " Never enter on any 
doubtful course, for be sure your sin will find you out. 
There is nothing so difficult to keep as your own secret, 
and in an unguarded moment you will say the word 
" horseT 

John Ledyard Deiiison^ i^SB- 




Memories of Brown 1 1 



The Story of Dr. Wayland's Cow 



IN 1856 I became a member of the household of Rev. 
James B. Simmons of Providence, who was an 
alumnus of Brown in the class of 1851. Dr. Simmons 
tried to interest and encourage me to persevere in a 
course of education, and frequently rehearsed some item 
of history of his Alma Mater, — not always dwelling on 
the serious work of college life, but often referring to 
absurd and questionable pranks of mischievous students. 
The one that I remember most clearly was the story of 
the capture and sale of " Moss Rose," Dr. Wayland's 
beautiful cow. This valuable animal disappeared, and no 
trace of her could be found, although careful inquiry was 
made through the town, in Seekonk and in other adjoin- 
ing towns. Finally the search was abandoned, and an- 
other cow was bought. This new cow proved to be very 
satisfactory, and her milk was almost equal in quality to 
that of " Moss Rose." In fact the new animal had many 
of the peculiarities of the former occupant of the same 
stall, though she was different in color and her horns were 
shorter. The horns of " Moss Rose " were curved near 
the ends and were tipped with brass balls while the new 
cow had shorter horns with blunt ends. " Moss Rose " 
was bright red with white spots on various parts of her 
body, while the new cow was the same general bright red 
without spots. But when spring came and she shed her 
winter's coat of hair, she too had white spots precisely like 
those on " Moss Rose " in location and size, and behold ! 
her indentity with the lost beast was thoroughly established. 



12 



Memories of Brown 



At last after " Moss Rose's " death, a student wrote a 
biographical poem in which he referred to some of the 
^ecially interesting scenes in the old cow's eventful life 
i his poem was read at a memorial service in Manning 
Hall in 1850 or 185 1. ^ 

William H. Slewart. 




Memories of Brown 1 1 3 

Garbs and Customs of Half a Cen- 
tury Ago 



ONE of the most conspicuous changes in the ex- 
ternal appearance of college life in the last fifty 
years is that which has taken place in the attire 
of the students. Entering college in my seven- 
teenth year I was still wearing " jacket " and trousers. 
How this garb appeared can be determined only by con- 
sulting pictures of that date. No such garment as a 
" jacket " is seen on boys of to-day. Before the end of my 
first year in college I donned bosom shirts and coat and 
waistcoat. Except in summer black was the only color. 
In summer " wash " trousers were often worn. The coat 
was a frock. Cutaways or sacks were seen on only one 
member of the class, the heir of a wealthy family who was 
not confined to provincial usages, and who was some- 
times derisively spoken of as " bobtail." To appear in 
trousers of a lighter hue was regarded so shocking that 
Professor Dunn insisted on loaning a pair of his own 
trousers to a member of my class who appeared at our 
" exhibition " and who preferred to have none but drab 
trousers. Evening coats were worn in the day-time by 
participants in commencement or other public exercises. 
One of our professors wore out an evening or " dress " 
coat discarded as " best " by using it as his daily attire. 
The only head-gear, excepting the straw hat for summer, 
that I wore was either a " cap " or a silk hat. I think that 
felt hats were not commonly worn until after Kossuth's 
visit to this country. 



114 Memories of Brown 

Photography was introduced while I was in college, and 
our class was the first to have class photographs taken. 
They show how differently from the present age men then 
wore their hair. It was cut square at the ends about on 
a line with the bottom of the ear, like what is now called 
the Dutch style. Shingling the hair was not common 
until i860 or later. 

There were but four buildings on the college grounds 
in 1853, — Rhode Island Hall, University Hall, Manning 
Hall, containing the library and the chapel, and Hope 
College. Lawn mowers had not then been invented. 
The grass on the front campus was allowed to grow until 
haying time, and quite a crop of hay was obtained. If it 
was not carted off on the day on which it was made, 
mischievous students were likely to dispose of it during 
the night. On one occasion they stuffed a professor's 
room with all that it would hold. It is to be remembered 
that at the date referred to college was in session well into 
July. The back campus was pasture ground. Dr. Way- 
land and Dr. Caswell each kept a cow grazing there. One 
of these cows disappeared for two or three days, and was 
finally found shut up in a room in Hope College which 
had happened to be without an occupant. 

The ground east of the front line of Sayles Hall was used 
by Dr. Wayland as a vegetable garden. The first time 
I had occasion to interview him I climbed the fence, and he 
paused from his labors with the hoe to attend to me, address- 
ing me as " My son." Dr. Wayland might sometimes be 
seen towards evening smoking a pipe in his garden, which 
extended back of his house, along Prospect street to Water- 
man street. He also " chewed." A mat lay in front of the 
platform in the chapel on which he regularly spat before 
going up into the desk at morning prayers. Tobacco 
chewing was quite common among the students, appar- 
ently, often only to assist in defiling the floor of recitation 



Memories of Brown 



rooms. The majority of the faculty, however, preserved 
too good discipHne in their rooms to permit this. 

In University Hall above the first story the corridors 
ran the full length of the building with staircases at either 
end, so that if any officer of discipline ascended one it was 
easy for a culprit to descend at the other end and escape. 
The upper story was called Pandemonium and not infre- 
quently deserved the name. Amusement was sometimes 
found in rolling paving-stones the whole length of the 
corridors at midnight or later. On coming back after 
vacation about the year 1855 we found the corridors 
divided in the middle by partitions. This made calling 
on one's neighbors inconvenient. An occupant of a room 
in the top story could not get to a neighbor's room in the 
other half of it except by descending three flights at one 
end and ascending three flights at the other. The general 
impression was that these partitions would not stand very 
long, but it was found that they were constructed of boiler 
plate, and too firmly braced to give way to ordinary 
violence. The only relief was found for a short time in 
inviting men up to sign " the petition " for some favor or 
the abatement of some grievance ; but the victim on reach- 
ing the upper floor was led up to the partition to inscribe 
his name. 

Dr. Wayland was the pioneer in the introduction of the 
" optional system " at college, and I entered college while 
his system was still on trial ; but with his resignation and 
the election of Dr. Sears as his successor, Dr. Wayland's 
system was dropped. It provided that the degree of A. 
M., should be given for the old four years' course, including 
both Greek and Latin, and the degree of A. B. for a three 
years' course including Latin but not Greek. There was 
very little option given us, however, none the first two 
years, when we had nothing but Greek, Latin and mathe- 
matics, and only a very limited option the last two years 



116 



Memories of Brown 



in one-third of our studies, when we were allowed to 
choose between French and German. The most con- 
spicuous feature of Dr. Wayland's system was the ad- 
mission of special students to any courses they were quali- 
fied to take. Thus many of my schoolmates entered 
college when I entered, but recited with the junior or 
senior classes, because almost the only studies they could 
take were modern languages, English and history. Thus 
our entering classes were very large for that period, con- 
siderably above loo, but by the next year but few were 
left. Dr. Wayland's system also aimed to make the re- 
muneration of the professors depend somewhat on their 
making their courses attractive. Every professor had a 
uniform salary of ^i,ooo, and in addition six dollars each 
half-year for every student in his classes. This system, 
however, prevailed but a short time. 

Edward H. Cutler, 18^'j. 




Memories of Brown 



17 



The Faculty in the Fifties 



A T the time of matriculation Dr. Wayland used to 
L\ sit in his office looking much like a hon in his den. 
^ -^ Ushered into his presence, the trembling fresh- 
man was ready to obey unquestioningly his slight- 
est behest. So when the matriculation register was 

placed before the young 
fellow, and the presi- 
dent, looking out from 
under his shaggy brow, 
bade him sign it, he 
thought of nothing but 
instantaneous acquies- 
cence. Then came the 
catastrophe, the o 1 d 
lion thundering out, 
" Stop, sir. Read what 
you are going to sign. 
How do you know that 
it is not a note of 
hand?" 



A MUCH honored pro- 
fessor, then a very 
young man, had lately 
returned from a resi- 
dence of a year or two 




Professor Samuel S. Greene, 1837 
(Taken about 1857) 



at Athens, and was in the habit of discoursing most edify- 
ingly upon the results of his observations in the ancient 



18 



Memories of Brown 



land surrounding the little capital. It was one of the well 
recognized resorts of the mischievous boys of his class, 
when they preceived that a call to recite might lead to a 
particularly disastrous display of their delinquencies, to 
inquire the result of his researches into " the peculiarities 

of the Greek mind," 
assured that the bell 
before the next recita- 
tion hour would strike 
before their thirst for 
information had been 
fully gratified. 

Two professors were 
accustomed to illustrate 
their lectures by ex- 
periments of a more or 
less sensational char- 
acter. Of these, one 
was apt to announce, 
" Now gentlemen, you 
will see such and such 
surprising phenom- 
ena," half the time 

Professor Robinson P. Dunn, 1843 blank disappointment 

(Taken about 1857) r n • t^i ,i 

lollowmg. 1 he other 
was wont, almost as uniformly, to preface the experiment 
with the remark, "What we now ought to see, and what we 
may see, although scientific experiments are proverbially 
treacherous, is so and so," failure never being known to 
crown the cautious instructor's efforts. 

Professor Lincoln was exceedingly well liked by the stu- 
dents of his day, and familiarly, as well as affectionately, 
called by them " Link," a fact with which he was perfectly 




Memories of Brown 



119 



well acquainted. On one occasion, a student translating 

a passage concerning Cicero rendered it exactly as it was 

written, " M. Tul. Cicero." 

" M. Tul— M. Tul.," exclaimed the professor, " Why not 

give the gentleman his full name ? How do you suppose 

I would enjoy being 
spoken of as Link} " 



One of the older pro- 
fessors had a stock of 
stories which had been 
related for the benefit 
of so many generations 
of students that they 
had acquired a sort of 
traditional reputation. 
He would relate a tale 
of a non-musical per- 
sonage who was accus- 
tomed to declare that he 
was able to recognize 
only two tunes, of 
which " one was Old 
Htindred and the other 
wasn't." 

Again he would tell 




Professor Nathaniel P. Hill, 1856 
(Taken about 1859) 



the story of a high-road, which became a by-way and 
farther dwindled into a cart-track, finally running into a 
foot-path through a wood, and ending as " a squirrel track 
running up a tree." Prompted by the upperclass men, 
the " freshies " used to be ready in each case for the enthusi- 
astic narrator, breaking out into the most uproarious ap- 
plause, just before he reached the point of his tale. 



It became the custom, at one period, for the students to 



120 



Mem 



ones 



ofB. 



rown 



inhale the then freshly-known nitrous-oxide or laughing- 
gas and watch the queer antics which resulted. There 
was a little fellow who had been much brow-beaten and 
" put upon " by one of the bigger men, a bit inclined to be 
a bully. The youngster evinced a great desire to breathe 
the strange mixture, proceeding without a moment's de- 
lay, under the protection of his temporary irresponsibility, 
to give his adversary, taken entirely by surprise, the 
biggest drubbing of his life. The gayety of the occasion 
was not diminished when it came to be known that mis- 
chievous fellow students had inflated the gas bag with 
nothing but pure common air. 

Anonymous, i8^y. 




Memories of Brown 1 2 



More About the Faculty in the Fifties 



THE transition from Wayland to Sears marked a 
great step in the modernizing of old Brown. 
What first impressed me about Dr. Sears was 
his collection of German books and the new con- 
ception which he brought of scholarship. In his daily 
walk and conversation he had an air of refinement that 
gave evidence of a travelled mind. Being sometimes in 
his house and seeing his foreign books, I felt myself in 
some measure kept in countenance by his example, as I 
was already reading German when I entered college, and 
had enthusiasms unshared by any of my mates and even 
looked upon askance by my pastor. 

Of the matter of Dr. Sears's teaching, I have never been 
able to detect in my mental equipment a trace. It seems 
to me he must have been singularly destitute of the 
quality we name personal magnetism. He never put me 
up to studying or reading anything, yet I revere his mem- 
ory. I remember the contempt and indignation I felt for 
fellows who took advantage of his lack of schoolmasterly 
strenuousness and spoiled his precious lecture hours with 
base turbulence. He was a man of fine grain, but seems 
to have gone through his lecture functions without taking 
sufficient note of the mental attitude of his youthful 
hearers. 

The men in Dr. Sears's faculty all had my unqualified 
respect, and some of them had my love. 

Of Caswell, whom the catalogue taught us to honor as 
" regent," I think every student must have brought away 



122 



Memories of Brown 



tender memories. In the tempering of his character the 
ingredient of sarcasm, so apt to be large in the pedagogic 
make-up, was wholly left out. He supplied its lack with 
urbanity, patience, geniality. The maxim we are all re- 
duced at last to accept, — Man kannsich seine Jungen nicht 

zu dumm denken, — 
if he ever did acknowl- 
edge its validity, he 
surely never acted 
upon it. He never hurt 
a fellow's self-respect. 
Of the smart modern 
pedagogy, acrid, mor- 
dant, critical, exacting, 
he had nothing. Men 
of his considerate 
type, of his goodness, 
of his simplicity, should 
never cease to exist in 
college faculties. 

Most of all I loved 
Professor Dunn, 
though he made me 
commit to memory 
Campbell 's and 
Whately's rhetorics. 
For my intercourse with Dunn I feel I am somewhat dif- 
ferent from what I should have been without that in- 
fluence. He gave me suggestions, promptings; he was 
affable, kindly, cultivated in manner, easy and fluent of 
speech, a genuine example of good rhetoric, himself more 
potent as a lesson than the books we repeated to him 
verbatim. 

Next I put Gammell. In Gammell's classes also we 
committed things to memory. Here it was Hallam and 




Professor Alexis Caswell, 
(Taken about 1857) 



1822 



Memories of Brown 



123 



Guizot. But Gammell was a great talker, and was venture- 
some. It was his business to ruffle the waters rather than 
to spread oil upon them. We asked him questions. In 
the interchange of speech many dormant ideas were 
awakened. I came to feel a certain stimulus from Gam- 

mell's discoursive com- 
menting, and came 
from his classes stirred 
and thinking. 

Chace was still teach- 
ing the doctrine of the 
three imponderable 
forms of matter, lectur- 
ing slowly enough for 
me to take it all down. 
To Chace I felt a warm 
attachment. He once 
wrote an article on the 
Persistence of Physical 
Law, and was reputed 
to have thereby hurt 
his prospects. This, of 
course, belonged to the 
esoteric concerns of the 
corporation, but it 
was talked about in the 
community, and was an influence determining the way of 
thinking of the student body. 

Lincoln made the impression of perfect competency as 
a Latin scholar and as a disciplinarian. In his teaching 
he followed the old way, the way of the preparatory school, 
— small daily tasks in three or four books. I never heard 
of a seminarium or of Latin as being used for practical 
purposes. All this is of later date. I believe Lincoln 
would have been great in a seminarium. But the ubiqui- 




Professor John L. Lincoln, 
(Taken about 1852) 



1836 



124 Memories of Brown 

tous "pony" has emasculated all language teaching. 

Harkness and Angell complete, I believe, the list of the 
men who were my teachers at Brown. 

The best thing about my college course was that it was 
not oppressive and exacting, and left me time to browse 
in the department of Reuben A. Guild. Dr. Guild's ad- 
ministration of the library was perfect, and I was always 
pleased to see, in my visits in later years, that he still kept 
up the same system. I mean to say that I am infinitely 
thankful for the freedom of access to the books which Dr. 
Guild might have denied me but did not. A college 
library should not be stacked, though some portions of 
very large ones may have to be. The same privilege, of 
unrestrained access to the books, I enjoyed at the Athen- 
aeum from my fourteenth year, or earlier. This grand 
library privilege was worth to me fully as much as all 
school and college beside. Dr. Guild was not to me guide, 
philosopher and friend; he simply said nothing, but kept 
on with his writing, when I went into his alcoves. Hence 
it is that no one has ever been able to fool me with ac- 
counts of the horrors of desultory reading, and hence I 
am wont to scout the maxim, non multa sed multum and 
to prefer el multa et imilhim. There is nothing occult or 
mysterious about a library. An educated man must have 
ranged largely in such fields. 

Samuel Thurber, 18^8. 



Memories of Brown 125 



Junior Burials, 1853-59 



ONE of the long-expected outbursts of enthusiasm 
in the fifties was the junior burial. This was an 
annual occurrence as regular in its return as class- 
day or commencement, and an event of such 
general interest that nearly the whole college, except per- 
haps the "grave and reverend seniors," turned out to 
participate in the solemn funeral ceremonies. How far 
back in the history of the university this custom originated 
I have no definite information. After mature reflection, 
I think it must have existed for several years prior to 1853. 
The burial of Euclid at Yale existed from an early period, 
but the difficult problems of Euclid made it a peculiarly 
obnoxious study to the average student. Hence I cannot 
avoid the conclusion that the junior burial must have 
originated before Professor Dunn had been appointed to 
the chair of rhetoric and English literature, since a more 
kindhearted and popular instructor was not known in our 
day. The books which were used as text-books in his 
course were not difficult to comprehend, and the course 
in general was instructive, useful and practical, and why 
these books were selected for the solemn ceremony of 
burial appears incomprehensible to any one who enjoyed 
the instruction of this most genial professor. 

Burial programmes of the seven years 1853-59 show a 
similar order of exercises in each, the best talent of the 
class being usually selected for the different parts. The 
following extract from a Providence paper of July 7, 1857, 
gives a brief account of the burial of that year : 



126 Memories of Brown 

" The annual college show of the burial of Whately by the junior 
class came off last evening, and Campbell and Spaulding were in- 
cluded in the sepulchral honors. The procession formed at the cor- 
ner of Hope and Waterman streets and, preceded by the brass band, 
and burning torches, and banners with devices and inscriptions, 
marched through the principal streets on both sides of the river. The 
young men were dressed in every variety of mock mourning costume, 
and some of them rivalled the " Antiques and Horribles " of the 
Fourth. The works of the devoted and finished authors were placed 
upon a car drawn by white horses, and supported on each side by 
comically solemn pall-bearers. 

" At Ferr}^ wharf they embarked in boats, and at a suitable position 
the funeral ceremonies were performed, and the text-books were com- 
mitted to the deep. The procession was marshalled by Robert H. I. 
Goddard, assisted by Joseph H. Patten, William H. Kneass, Moses 
Lyman, Jr., James F. Decamp, Charles P. Williams and Robert 
Millar. The ceremonies consisted of music, a funeral ode by A. H. 
Nelson, an oration on Campbell by Solon W. Stevens, a poem by 
Arnold Green, an oration on Whately by L. C. Manchester, an oration 
on Spaulding by Charles L. Colby, and a Latin burial service by J. 
Henry Gilmore. The affair was comical, without being indecorous, 
and the procession was witnessed by great numbers of people along 
the entire route." 

According to my further recollection the boats were 
large batteaux which were rowed by boatmen to a buoy 
some two or three miles down the bay, not far from Field's 
Point, at which place the services were held at about 1 1 P. 
M. The procession started from the college about nine and 
arrived back at the college about one or two in the morn- 
ing, going up Waterman street and halting in front of 
Professor Dunn's. Professor Dunn kindly put his head 
out of the window and bade us " good-night." The boys 
gave him three rousing cheers, and the band played 
" Home, Sweet Home," as we were to return home the 
next day. 

The books contributed by the class were put into a box 



1 i E i A L 

OF 
BV THE 

JUNIOR CLASS .OF BROWN UNIVERSITY, 
JTJX.-^ 9, isse. 



RIGHABD OLNEY, 



Chief Marshal. 



ASSISTANT MARSHALS: 

WlllIAH E. CeoCKEB, J. E. TotTETELLOTTB, 

CHAjiugs Blake, M. H. Mobbmok, 

Nicholas B. Bolles, M. B. Jenkins. 



I3P°The Torcli Light Procession will fom ^.th^, isomer of Hope and 
Watemwai streets, at 8^ o'clock, P, M. 



1 28 Memories of Brown 

or coffin and weighted with bricks sufficient to sink it. 
Several holes were bored in the box to let the air out, and 
on one occasion an enthusiastic junior leaped out of the 
boat and sat astride the box until it began to fill and sink, 
the boring of the holes having been omitted. 

The following extracts are taken from the programmes 
of different years. In that of 1853 the ode written by 
James DeMille began as follows. It was sung to the tune 
of "Auld Lang Syne:" 

" Ye whimpering coves assembled here 
Upon a solemn bust, 
Oh ! drop the bitter, burning tear 
O'er Richard Whately's dust. 

Chorus : — O'er Richard Whately's dust, my coves, etc." 

The chief marshal was Duncan Smith, and the com- 
mittee of arrangements was G. P. Upton, Duncan Smith 
and John Vernon. 

In the programme for 1854 the names of the participants 
are not published. The following is the first verse of the 
ode, to the melody of " Massa 's in de cold, cold ground :" 

"O'er the wave the breeze is bringing 

The junior's mournful song ; 
Whilst the dirges we are singing, 

Of Richard W^hately, dead and gone. 
Where the golden moonlight streaming 

Gilds the glassy wave, 
There our torches brightly gleaming 

Shine upon his cold, cold grave. 

Chorus : — Hark ! across the river 

Comes the mournful lay ; 
Richard Whately's dead and sleeping. 
Sleeping in the cold, cold bay." 



Memories of Brown 1 29 

In the programme of 1855 appears the noted name of 
Richard Olney as chief marshal. The exercises were an 
oration on Campbell by N. G. Bonney, a poem by Francis 
Wayland White, an oration on Whately by George L. 
Stedman and an oration on Spaulding by Charles B. Go£f. 

The ode written by Charles Turner to the tune of 
" Nelly was a Lady," began as follows : — 

" Down on the Narragansett floating 
Now mournful are the juniors all ; 
The bones of Richard Whately toting 
Beneath their dark funereal pall. 

Gone is Dick Whately, 

Thrice has he died ; 
Down below, in realms of woe, 

His soul is quantified." 

In the next year (1856) Daniel B. Pond was chief 
marshal. The oration on Campbell was given by W. W. 
Corbett, the one on Whately by Alexander T. Britton, 
the one on Spaulding by John Hay,* and the poem by 
Charles H. Forsyth. The Latin burial service was pro- 
nounced by John B. Brackett. The ode was written by 
George W. Carr to the tune of " Benny Havens, Oh ! " and 
began as follows : — 

" From classic halls Brunonian, 
Lugubrious juniors pour 
To dump Dick Whately and his friends 
Upon the Stygian shore ; 



* Note. Hay was a graduate of 1858, but entering in advance was reckoned 
with the juniors of that year in rhetoric, and hence appears in this programme. 
It is to be hoped that the distinguished secretary of state will contribute a 
copy of his oration on Spaulding to the archives of the university. — S. W. A. 
(Unfortunately Mr. Hay's oration must now remain unrecorded. — Editors.) 



Memories of Brown 13 

To pay the debt of gratitude 

Which we so long have owed 
For equivocal assistance, 

In the ajialytic code. 

Chorus : — Then mourn for Richard Whately, 
For Richard Whately, oh ! 
May the Narragansett gently roll 
O'er Richard Whately, oh ! 



In this year and the following the exercises were varied 
by the addition of an address to the sophomores which 
was given in 1856 by Samuel C. Eastman. 

I have already quoted a newspaper item describing the 
burial of 1857. In 1858 Charles M. Smith acted as chief 
marshal. The orations were pronounced by David H. 
Montgomery, Elnathan Judson and J.T. Plumer, the poem 
by Richard Waterman, the Latin burial service by T. W. 
Bancroft, and the address to the sophomores by David 
Weston. William D. King wrote the funeral ode, which 
began as follows : Tune, " Auld Lang Syne." 

" Come mournful class of '59, 
Come gather round this bier, 
While for the cause we put the sigji, 
And drop the bitter tear. 

Chorus : — And drop the bitter tear, my boys, etc." 

In 1859 G. W. Hall acted as chief marshal and H. K. 
Porter and P. S. Jastram gave the orations, J. G. Chap- 
man the poem, G. S. Abbott the Latin burial service and 
H. M. Rice the address to the sophomores. The name of 
the author of the funeral ode is not stated. The follow- 
ing is the last verse : Tune, " Benny Havens, Oh ! " 



1 32 Memories of Brown 

" What though from 'neath the ocean's bed these syllogistic bores 
Should rise in turn, the bane and curse of vahant sophomores ? 
We juniors now can swell the song, ' Our labors all are o'er,' 
And louder yet we'll raise the shout, farewell forevermore. 

Chorus : — Farewell forevermore, etc." 



The writer has no information as to any later ceremonies 
of this kind. A pecuUar feature of these burials consisted 
in the banners or transparencies which were made from 
time to time to illustrate the persons and scenes described 
in the studies of the year. One of these, said to have been 
made by the noted artist Waterman, represented the 
supreme Can (n) on of the New Analytic, another the 
Novum Organon of Sir Francis Bacon (a pig grinding a 
hand organ). * Another, entitled the Junior'sVision, repre- 
sented a junior sleeping soundly in bed, a pony sitting 
upon his stomach, glaring at him, a procession of noted 
worthies. Venerable Bede, Spenser, Beaumont and 
Fletcher, and a host of others emerging from Hades, 
while the radiant face of an angel hovered over the bed 
representing the genial professor of rhetoric, etc. These 
were carefully preserved and handed down as legacies 
from class to class. 

Among the noted names upon these programmes are 
those of several men who afterwards filled important public 
positions, — two United States secretaries of state, doctors 
of divinity, judges and prominent physicians and instruct- 
ors. 

^. W. Abbott, 1858. 



(*This for years was in the possession of Upsilon Chapter of D. K. E. 
Editors.) 



Memories of Brown 133 

The College Water Supply 
in the Fifties 



IN the ante-bellum period (1850-60) no public water 
supply furnishing water through a system of pipes 
was known or even dreamed of upon the top of Col- 
lege Hill. The method of supplying water for the use 
of the students was as crude as that of many houses in the 
remotest backwoods of to-day. The supply consisted of 
two ordinary stoned wells, each of which was covered 
with a wooden framework containing a windlass or wheel, 
from which a large stone was suspended, capable of 
balancing an " old oaken bucket." From these wells we 
tugged our daily water supply in wooden pails up one, 
two or three flights of stairs to our rooms in Hope Col- 
lege or University Hall. Such luxuries as bath tubs and 
other modern plumbing facilities were unknown within 
the precincts of the college. 

These two wells were located, one opposite the easterly 
side of Hope College and the other near the southeast 
corner of University Hall. The surroundings of the latter 
were not of the most sanitary character, and nothing but 
the fact that the underground currents of water in that 
neighborhood ran from north to south prevented the 
occurrence of frequent epidemics of illness among the 
inmates of University Hall. The quality of the water of 
such wells at the present day would be regarded as open 
to question, but the chemical examination of water was 
then scarcely ever considered as a matter of importance. 



34 



Memories of Brown 



It was the custom of Mr. Elliott, the registrar (often 
called " Pluto " for short, for some unknown euphemistic 
reason or other), to mow the grass upon the east campus 
in June, and make it into hay. Upon a certain night in 
June, 1856, toward the close of our sophomore year, this 
hay disappeared, or at least a large part of it, and the 
Hope College well curb was found upset at some distance 
from the well. The well itself was stuffed full of haycocks, 
and Mr. Elliott's services were in demand to remove the 
damaged fodder. For a time the water strongly resembled 
herb tea, but it soon resumed its wonted purity. 

I have in my possession a note from President Sears, 
requesting me to call at his office the day after this oc- 
currence, which I very gladly did, since I was enabled, 
like Sam Weller, to prove an " alibi," for I spent that night 
with one of my classmates outside the college walls. 

S. W. Abbott, 1858. 




Memories of Brown 1 35 



John Hay as a Parodist of Emerson 



I 



N 1857 Emerson contributed to the Atlantic Monthly 
some lines entitled " Brahma," which began as fol- 
lows: 

" If the red slayer think he slays, 
Or if the slain think he is slain, 
They know not well the subtle ways 
I keep, and pass, and turn again." 



The first number of the Atlantic containing these lines 
arrived at Brown University in the fall of 1857, ^^'^ spec- 
ulation was rife among the students as to the meaning of 
Emerson's stanzas. Some students of " the baser sort" 
even suggested that Emerson had in mind the festive 
game of euchre. 

Whatever may be said, however, as to the difficulty of 
interpreting these lines, no college student can have any 
difficulty in understanding the meaning of the following 
words by John Hay, which were published in November 
of that year in the annual publication known as the 
" Brown Paper:" 

"Sa! Sa!" 

If the hazed freshman thinks he's hazed. 
And that he's passed his hazing pain ; 

He's sold — too high his hopes are raised, 
The soph'mcre goes but comes again. 



136 



Memories of Brown 



Far or forgot to them is near, 

First or fourth story is the same ; ' 

The vengeful sophs to him appear, 

And funk destroys his sense of shame. 

In vain he tries to shut them out. 
He tries to fly, but has no wings ; 

Freshmen are weak, and sophs are stout, 
The vanquished freshman yields and sings. 

The soph'mores leave his dim abode, 
He ventilates till half-past 'leven ; 

Freshman, this haze is for thy good. 
This year is hell, the next is heaven. 



6^. W. Abbott, 1858. 




The Athen^um 
Where generations of Brown Men have read and studied 



Memories of Brown 137 



A " Smoking-Out " in 1856 



IT was a night in September of 1856, and all through 
the upper stories of University Hall many creatures 
were stirring, some quaintly or hideously costumed 
and disguised ; others, like the writer, being present 
only as what are called nowadays " rooters," in the per- 
formance about to take place. 

Samuel Duncan and his roommate, Adoniram J. Gor- 
don, then only promising freshmen, but destined to be- 
come distinguished preachers in the Baptist Church, were 
the victims selected for the sophomoric visitation. 

" In the dead waist and middle of the night " a resound- 
ing rap upon their door was the first intimation they re- 
ceived of the honor about to be conferred upon them. 
For a time a parley was carried on between the inmates 
and the outmates of room number 27, but a forcible entry 
being threatened the unseasonable callers were very re- 
luctantly admitted, finding their hosts not in costume de 
rigueur, but in plain robes de nuit. 

Each of the distinguished visitors, some six in all, had 
a small flower-pot, in the bottom of which were live coals, 
and on top of them, and filling each pot, were scrapings 
from the floor of some Providence cigar factory. 

Stretching themselves upon the floor, in positions that 
outlined the spokes of a wheel, with the flower-pot pipes — 
a long reed stem inserted near the bottom of each — 
grouped in the centre like a hub, they proceeded to blow 
up into the room clouds of odoriferous and nauseating 
smoke that soon told upon the stomachs of the embryo 



138 Memories of Brown 

preachers. The only pure air in the room was the stratum 
next to the floor where the smokers lay. 

Ernest B. Gordon, in his biography of his father, writes 
thus of that scene : " Gordon when a freshman of but 
two weeks' standing was visited in his room, ' smoked out ' 
and imperiously ordered by his visitors to mount the 
table and preach a sermon. The newcomer's resources 
in that line had not been suspected. With admirable 
appropriateness he chose as his text, ' A certain man went 
down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves.' 

" Never was a more pointed discourse delivered. The 
listeners taking umbrage rushed like the wild beasts at 
Ephesus upon the preacher, upset the table upon which 
he stood, and would have treated him badly indeed, if his 
Christianity had not passed forthwith from the didactic to 
the muscular phase and with excellent results. He sprang 
at the ring-leader, tore his coat in halves, and with the ef- 
ficient co-operation of John Hay, who just then appeared 
upon the scene, routed the intruders from the premises." 

If the intruders were indeed routed from the premises, 
they carried the " rooters " with them, for I bear a large 
and distinctly visible scar upon my right knee-cap, lifelong 
evidence of what occurred after the smokers, with their 
victims, emerged from room 27, U. H. 

Duncan, mounted on a chair in the centre of a group 
of applauding sophomores and collaborating juniors like 
Hay and myself, had just referred to "that monumental 
work of Daniel Webster, his great dictionary," when the 
group of juniors who were sitting in the deep window- 
seat at the end of the hall vociferously shouting, " Here's 
to good old Brown, Drink her down," were amazed at see- 
ing the orator, his nightshirt waving in the breeze, tumble 
headlong among his audience, that was seen to be scatter- 
ing in every direction. The cause of this sudden stam- 
pede was disclosed as the crowd thinned out. Mr. Elliott, 



Memories of Brown 1 39 

the then registrar of Brown, but whom we knew only as 
" Pluto " or " Piute," had made his way, with a lantern 
concealed under a long coat, into the crowd gathered 
about Duncan's pulpit, and there he had suddenly held 
up his lantern in the speaker's face. 

With alacrity I girded up my loins and joined the 
hegira ; but in the dark, stumbling over a sophomore who 
had fallen at the top of the stairs, I soon reached the 
second story by a series of involuntary somersaults. In 
my rapid descent I received other injuries besides the 
one above mentioned. My trousers and coat were badly 
torn, and I lost a cane, a hat and a handkerchief, each 
having my name on it. 

There seemed to be no chance for me to prove an alibi 
when President Barnas Sears should summon the sus- 
pected participants in that " smoking-out " into his pres- 
ence. 

In the end, however, no one was made to feel the weight 
of the faculty's displeasure for that night's uproar, and 
from the " infernal regions " — as " Pluto's " ofiEice was 
called — I afterward recovered my property, upon which 
" not even the smell of fire had passed." 

One excessively scared sophomore, in desperate eager- 
ness to avoid the clutches of " Piute," climbed out the 
window of a third-story room and by the waterspout lead- 
ing from the roof to the ground made his escape, minus 
trousers and much cuticle from legs and hands. 

A. H. Nelson, 1858. 



1 40 Memories of Brown 



The Duel. — In Three Chapters 




Chapter I 
Why It Was 



OME, now, this will never do, gentlemen 
don't settle their disputes with their 
x^^^ fists," I said, as I jumped 

^^** between two of my class- 
mates, who, in the room of 
one of them on that long-to 
be-remembered afternoon 



in March of 1857, had suddenly begun to strike at each 
other with seemingly angry purpose. The day had been 
an unusually fine one for that time of the year, and con- 
sequently Westminster street — in those days the fashion- 
able promenade of Providence — had been thronged with 
young men and maidens, among the former the student 
body of Brown University having a large representation, 
each and all being there with flirtatious intent. 

Four of the promenaders having sought a favorite ren- 
dezvous of the juniors in the room of Mr. Clarence Bates 
of Louisville, Ky., the incidents of the afternoon were 
being discussed with great glee and much bantering as to 
possible conquests, when suddenly Mr. Charles P. Wil- 
liams of New York made some disparaging remark about 
a certain young lady with whom Mr. Bates was evidently 
smitten, when the latter sprang from his seat, where he 



Memories of Brown 141 

was wrestling with his constant companion, a fiddle, at- 
tempting to draw from it the cheerful strains of " The Ar- 
kansas Traveller" — the only tune he knew — and struck 
at Mr. Williams. The latter dodged the blow, and quickly 
struck out in return, whereupon I sprang between them 
with the remonstrance above quoted. Mr. Bates then 
handed to Mr. Williams one of his visiting cards with the 
words " I demand of you, sir, the satisfaction of a gentle- 
man, and refer any friend you may find to serve you in 
this matter to my friend Nelson here." Mr. Williams ac- 
cepted the card, and turning to Mr. Harry W. Kneass 
of Philadelphia asked that gentleman to act as his friend. 
Mr. Kneass readily consented and at once withdrew from 
the room with Mr. W^illiams. 

These four students roomed and boarded in the same 
house,, and, although they belonged to three different 
Greek-letter fraternities, they were known to be very in- 
timate. That evening the loud tone of voice in which 
Mr. Bates and Mr. Nelson asked the head-waiter in the 
supper room to seat them at a table apart from the other 
two, with whom up to that time they had always had seats 
at the same table, caused considerable curiosity among 
their fellow boarders, and during the following day — 
Sunday — there was much gossip afloat concerning a 
probable duel between Mr. Bates and Mr. Williams. 
Sunday afternoon, while the two "seconds" were in the 
room of the chronicler hereof arranging the preliminaries, 
a knock at the door was heard. As a matter of due cau- 
tion Mr. Kneass crawled under the bed while I called out 
in hospitable tone, " Come in ! " I was greatly surprised 
to see the Rev. Mr. Bancroft, rector of one of the Episco- 
pal churches of Providence, to whom I had listened that 
very morning, answer my summons. He soon made 
known his errand. Having learned from his brother, then 
a sophomore, but in after years on the faculty of Brown, 



142 Memories of Brown 

that there was a prospect of a duel being fought by two 
students of Brown, he had called as an alumnus, jealous 
of the reputation of his Alma Mater, to learn the truth of 
the rumor, and if possible to avert such a calamity. After 
learning the facts as above related he asked me if I would 
not try to find the principals, while he waited in my room, 
and, using his name and telling them of his earnest en- 
treaty that they forego their deadly purpose, effect a rec- 
onciliation. I readily assented, and leaving the other 
second under the bed, and my caller seated by a glowing 
grate fire — the night before it had turned cold very sud- 
denly and the air was now full of whirling snowfiakes — 
I went in search of the principals. I soon found them 
and having communicated to Mr. Bates the rector's pa- 
cific message, he replied, " I'll have that fellow's heart's 
blood before I'll ever take his hand again." To Mr. Wil- 
liams, whom I found soon after, I gave the message with 
which I was charged and the reply of his antagonist 
thereto, to which he answered; " Mr. Bates shall have the 
satisfaction he has demanded. That is my answer to the 
minister." Returning to my own room I made known to 
Mr. Bancroft the result of my interviews. The clergyman 
expressed great sorrow at the vindictive spirit shown by 
the principals, and rising to go he said, " I suppose that 
you know that as soon as this reaches the ear of the faculty 
you will all certainly be expelled." After his departure 
Mr. Kneass emerged from his hiding place and together 
we discussed our plans as they seemed to be affected by 
this unexpected call. We decided that Mr. Bancroft 
would not be long in telling the president of Brown all 
that he knew and conjectured regarding the duel. It 
therefore became necessary to forestall the result of that 
action by having the duel come off sooner than the after- 
noon of the next day — the time that we had fixed upon 
for the meeting and that the rector had been told. Hastily 



Memories of Brown 143 

the keeper of the Hvery stable just across the street was 
advised that two horses and buggies must be ready for 
us at 5 : 30 the next morning, and when we came from the 
supper room that night, each couple scowling angry de- 
fiance at the other, we gave orders in rather loud tones 
to be called at 5 the next morning. By that time the im- 
pending duel was the absorbing topic of conversation in 
that boarding house as well as in Hope College and 
University Hall, the dormitories of Brown. 

Chapter II 
Where It Was 

" My land, mother, just come here and see what is going 
on yonder in the woods ! " And soon the farmer's entire 
family, wife, three children, hired girl and hired man were 
ranged along the fence back of the barn, witnesses of a duel 
by two students from Brown University. It was a real 
March day, raw, cold, blustering and snowy, and to those 
spectators it seemed a most extraordinary day to be 
chosen for a most extraordinary performance. 

Two buggies, each containing two young men, had 
turned out of the road near the farmer's house, and, the 
occupants getting out, hitched the horses to trees near by, 
and then sought a place in the woods where there was a 
cleared spot of considerable extent. There one of the quar- 
tette was seen to measure off fifteen paces over the snow- 
covered ground, and another one of the party, having di- 
rected the other two to take their places at either end of 
the line thus marked off, handed to each a pistol, saying, 
" Gentlemen, I shall hold out my handkerchief thus. At 
the word ' three ' I shall drop the handkerchief and you 
will fire." He then took his position midway between the 
two combatants, and a few paces from the line he had 



144 Memories of Brown 

measured off. Holding out a handkerchief, he said in a 
voice that startled the onlookers, "Gentlemen, are you 
ready ? One ! Two ! Three ! " At the word " three,'' 
the handkerchief dropped to the ground and there was a 
discharge of two pistols. The cap worn by one of the 
duellists was seen to fall backwards off his head, and the 
right arm of the other man fell to his side. The four 
young men then ran together into a group, and while one 
of them hastily bandaged the arm of his friend, the other 
two drove rapidly away. They were soon followed by the 
other duellist and his second. The whole affair had not 
taken five minutes ; but what did it all mean ? The spec- 
tators guessed, and rightly so, that the actors were students 
from Brown University, over yonder in Providence, 
Rhode Island, from which the Seekonk river there sepa- 
rates Massachusetts. But who ever heard of men from 
the land of Roger Williams invading the domain of Cot- 
ton Mather, at such an unseemly hour and for such a 
bloodthirsty purpose ? 

Before noon the farmer had gone to Providence, and 
had spread as widely as he could the story of what he had 
seen. The duellists were soon known and were inter- 
viewed by every newspaper reporter in the city; but 
nothing more was learned from them than what the 
farmer and his family had been telling all day. Their 
story was, however, corroborated by the testimony of the 
keeper of the toll-bridge, who noticed specially the great 
agitation of the young men who first crossed the bridge 
on their return to Providence, and after he had been 
startled by hearing pistol shots in the woods near the 
Massachusetts end of the bridge. He said that when the 
second buggy crossed the bridge, one of the occupants 
was leaning back in the corner and groaning " Oh, my 
arm ; my arm ! " And while he was wondering what it all 
meant the young man who was driving gave the horse a 



Memories of Brown 1 45 

sudden cut with the whip, and they dashed off towards 
the city without paying their toll. The next morning the 
newsboys of Providence — few in number in those days — 
were running all about the campus of old Brown yelling, 
" Here you are ! All about the duel and all about the 
faculty!" As one of the duellists was a Southerner 
and had unusually long hair, and wore what was then 
known as a " border ruffian " hat, the editors of the two 
daily papers of Providence made the most of those special 
features of the affair and exhausted their vocabularies in 
denunciation of "such a high-handed attempt to import 
into the liberty-loving North the barbarous customs of 
the slave-holding South." The faculty of Brown was 
called upon to turn over at once to the officers of the law 
these daring and insolent invaders of peaceful and law- 
abiding New England. A prominent citizen of Provi- 
dence left for Boston on Tuesday armed with the affida- 
vits of the farmer and his household, and that of the 
keeper of the toll-bridge, to urge the governor of Massa- 
chusetts to call upon the governor of Rhode Island to ar- 
rest and surrender to him these arrogant law-breakers. 

Chapter III 

What It Was 

" Well, Mr. Nelson, what is the truth as to the duel 
said to have been fought across the Seekonk river on 
Monday last by Mr. Bates and Mr. Williams, in which you 
and Mr. Kneass are said to have acted as seconds.?" It 
was Dr. Barnas Sears, president of Brown University, 
who asked that question, as I entered the dreaded pre- 
cincts of his study on Wednesday, the second day after 
the duel. Messrs. Bates, Williams and Kneass were in 
the parlor of the presidential mansion, waiting their turn 



1 46 Memories of Brown 

to be summoned thence into the doctor's study. We 
were not there of our own accord, nor for the purpose of 
making a social call upon Prex ; far from it. That 
morning Teddy, the Irish factotum and general errand 
boy of the university, had handed to each of us a note 
with the sympathetic announcement, " I've a note for you 
from the president, and I'm thinking it's about that jewel. 
It's right sorry for all of yer, I am." He was right. The 
note was to advise us that at 3 o'clock that afternoon the 
president expected to see each one of us at his house. 

To chapel service on the morning of the duel and there- 
after to recitations, as they regularly occurred, Mr. Bates 
had gone, carrying his right arm in a sling. The green 
cloth cap that Williams wore on that eventful morning 
was found to have had two holes through the top, and to 
the curious inquirers as to the cause of those holes, Wil- 
liams had constantly replied, "A bullet went through there." 
When, however, we passed into the vestibule of Dr. Sears's 
house that afternoon. Bates suddenly removed his arm 
from the sling " whole as the other," and Mr. Williams 
was ready to explain how it was that " a bullet went 
through his cap." To the question of Dr. Sears as above 
quoted I replied, " Dr. Sears, the truth is that the whole 
affair is a hoax that we got up for the purpose of fooling 
the students." " Was there then no duel on Monday 
last.? " asked Dr. Sears. I replied, " Mr. Bates and Mr. 
Williams did fire pistols towards each other, but I know 
that there were no balls in the pistols, as I loaded them." 
" But how about the quarrel out of which this duel is said 
to have grown ? " asked the president. " That," said I, 
" was all arranged beforehand, as part of the hoax." " Well," 
said the doctor, " that is about what I expected to learn ; 
but two or three of the faculty are disposed to believe that 
it was a bona-fide duel. You may go, Mr. Nelson," and 
thereupon I was directed to the door leading to the street. 



Memories of Brown 147 

while the president summoned Mr. Bates into his study. 
Mr. Williams was the last of the four to be closeted with 
Dr. Sears. To the query, " But how about that cap of 
yours, Mr. Williams ? Is that it that you have in your 
hand .? You have told those who asked you about those 
holes that a bullet went through there; was that the 
truth 1 " Mr. Williams replied, " It certainly was, sir; for 
after we came back last Monday morning I cut those holes 
with my knife, and then pushed a bullet through with a 
nail." That sophistical explanation was too much for 
even the proverbial gravity of Barnas Sears, and he 
laughed most heartily. 

When Williams came into the room where the other 
" duellists " had met after leaving the president, he found 
Bates making up for the time he had lost, when, on ac- 
count of his " wounded " arm, he had been unable to play 
on his fiddle. " The Arkansas Traveller " was now 
travelling at a lively pace, and at intervals, " Here's to 
Good Old Brown, Drink her down" was being sung 
lustily, if not melodiously, by the trio. But a sudden hush 
fell upon our party when Williams said, " Well, you fel- 
lows seem to be pretty jolly, considering the fact that our 
duel is likely to land us in a Massachusetts penitentiary." 
" Penitentiary } " we exclaimed in unison. " What do you 
mean by that } " " Did not the Prex tell you about 
Tristam Burges? " said Williams, "about his having gone 
to Boston yesterday with the affidavits of that toll-bridge 
keeper and that farmer, in order to get the governor of 
Massachusetts to call upon the governor of this state to 
surrender us for trial } Dr. Sears says that if once the 
officers get their hands on us, as we would not be allowed 
to testify in our own behalf at the trial, and as we have 
taken such good care to make everything indicate a bona- 
fide duel, he is very much afraid that we would never be 
able to make a Massachusetts jury believe that it was 



1 48 Memories of B. 



rown 



only a college students' prank." This most important 
news Dr. Sears had reserved for Williams, who, as I have 
said, was the last of our party to be examined. It was 
startling news for all of us, and had the president told 
Williams nothing more the writer would very probably 
have already served out a sentence of twenty years in a 
penitentiary. But just then Dr. Sears was for us, " the 
right man in the right place." He told Williams that if 
the oiiftcers of the law called upon him to give us into 
their custody, it would be his duty to comply, "if" — he 
significantly added — " I can find you." He therefore ad- 
vised us to conceal ourselves securely the next day, and if 
the officers were unable when they first reached the city 
to find us at our rooms or boarding house, they would un- 
doubtedly call on him, when he was quite confident that 
he could convince them that they were being hoaxed. 
We did not hesitate about acting upon the president s 
advice, and that night, stealing one at a time out of our 
rooms, and through back streets and by-ways of Provi- 
dence, we gained a safe hiding-place with a classmate who 
roomed in the outskirts of the city. The next morning 
our host went out as a spy in our interest and after the 
arrival of the morning express from Boston he returned 
to report that Mr. Burges with two companions had ar- 
rived by that train. He had followed them to the gover- 
nor's office and thence to our boarding-place, where they 
could get no trace of us, for the proprietor said that we 
were not in our rooms and had not been to breakfast, and 
the chambermaid reported that our beds had not been 
slept in the previous night. Thence he had followed 
them to the president's, but there they stayed so long that 
he got tired watching for them to come out and so had 
returned to report. All our attempts at jollity during 
that day were dismal failures, and we found it impossible 
to follow the example of Mark Tapley, for the " adverse 



Memories of Brown 149 

circumstances were too real and personal," Our spy 
went out again, to return after the departure of the after- 
noon express for Boston. College songs " languished on 
our tongues " as the walls of a penitentiary began to loom 
large upon the near horizon, while we looked anxiously 
down the street as the time for the return of our scout 
drew near. At last we saw him running towards the 
house, and, as we threw up the window-sash, he called 
out — waving his cap over his head — " Hurrah ! hurrah ! 
they've gone back to Boston." It had turned out as Dr. 
Sears prophesied, he having (as we always believed) 
called upon the governor of Rhode Island before the 
Massachusetts ofhcials arrived. 

The agonizing suspense of the day thus joyfully ended, 
we forthwith repaired to Westminster street, where, arm 
in arm, and so taking up the whole sidewalk, we prome- 
naded, the cynosure of all eyes, and hearing very often as 
we passed along, the words, " Look ! look ! there go those 
students that fought that duel." But in the language of 
the " diamond," the faculty now " came to the bat," for the 
following day our friend Teddy called again upon each of 
us with another note from the president. As before, 
Teddy was confident that it had to do " with the jewel " 
and again he was right, though it was not now an invita- 
tion to call upon Dr. Sears. The note handed me read 
as follows : 

" On account of your participation in the recent pre- 
tended duel between Mr. Clarence Bates and Mr. Charles 
P. Williams, your connection with Brown University is 
temporarily severed. You will return to your home and 
there remain until the beginning of the next quarter, 
when you may resume your place in the university. 

" Very truly, 

Barnas Sears, President." 



1 50 Memories of Brown 

Bates having been suspended in his sophomore year, 
and restored upon promise of good behavior thereafter, 
was now expelled. He went to Union College, known 
among college men of those days as " Botany Bay," and 
was graduated about the same time with Williams and 
the writer hereof from Brown. Kneass never returned to 
Brown. 

There are residents of Providence who still believe that 
the above is a fictitious explanation of a bona-fide duel, 
by which the actors very cleverly slipped out of the 
clutches of the law; but as the sole survivor of the par- 
ticipants in that serio-comic college scrape, I make af^- 
davit to the literal and complete truthfulness of the fore- 
going narrative. 

A. H. Nelson, 1858. 




,J^tifii^ /'f(/t^cij/-e?-n/. JZ-JILi-^J.. 






Mem 



ones 0, 



B 



rown 



51 



John Hay, 1858 



WHEN the time came for the selection of a col- 
lege, it is not strange that Hay — influenced, 
undoubtedly, by the fact that Providence had 
been the early home of his mother and Brown 
University the Alma Mater of his maternal grandfather 
(Rev. David Leonard, 1792, the poet of his class) — made 




John Hay, 1858 
(Taken in 1857) 

choice of this college. He therefore entered Brown 
and at once took high rank as a writer. This was 



1 52 Memories of Brown 

evident not only from his essays in the departments of 
rhetoric and the various sciences — in short, in all those 
studies in which good writing subjoined to a thorough 
knowledge of the subject is required — but from the fact 
that whenever anything above the ordinary was needed 
in the way of composition his services were at once drawn 
upon. This, too, was the more noticeable when it is re- 
called that the class of which he was a member was made 
up of an unusual number of brilliant men, excelling es- 
pecially in composition, and many of whom have since 
become eminent in different walks of life, particularly that 
of journalism. His class poem, delivered in 1858, before 
an audience composed chiefly of highly cultivated and 
beautiful women — Hay was always a great favorite with 
the ladies — is a model of its kind. The close of this 
poem (to my mind the quintessence of healthy sentiment) 
is such an exquisite gem that the readers of " Memories 
of Brown " will thank me for reproducing it in this con- 
nection : 

" Our words may not float down the surging ages, 

As Hindoo lamps adown the sacred stream ; 
We may not stand sublime on history's pages, 

The bright ideals of the future's dream ; 
Yet we may all strive for the goal assigned us, 

Glad if we win, and happy if we fail ; 
Work calmly on, nor care to leave behind us 

The lurid glaring of the meteor's trail. 
As we go forth, the smiling world before us 

Shouts to our youth the old inspiring tune ; 
The same blue sky of God is bending o'er us. 

The green earth sparkles in the joy of June. 
Where'er afar the beck of fate shall call us, 

'Mid winter's boreal chill or summer's blaze, 
Fond memory's chain of flowers shall still enthrall us, 

Wreathed by the spirits of these vanished days. 



Memories of Brown 1 ^3 

Our hearts shall bear them safe through life's commotion, 
Their fading gleam shall light us to our graves ; 

As in the shell the memories of ocean 
Murmur forever of the sounding waves." 




John Hay, 1858 
(One of his latest portraits) 



Hay, during his college career, was, like his favorite 
poet, Shelley, of a singularly modest and retiring disposi- 
tion ; but, withal, of so winning a manner that no one 
could be in his presence, even for a few moments, without 
falling under the spell which his conversation and com- 
panionship invariably cast upon all who came within his 



154 Memories of Brown 

influence. He was, indeed, to his little circle of intimates, 
a young Dr. Johnson without his boorishness, or a Dr. 
Goldsmith without his frivolity. Upon his first entering 
the university, the intellectual bullies of his class, mistak- 
ing these traits for weakness, were disposed to look down 
upon the newly entered collegian from Illinois. It was 
but a little while, however, when his sterling worth gave 
them pause. 

During his entire college life the stand in scholarship 
taken by Hay among his classmates was of a high order. 
Nor did his industry (although his ability rendered that 
habit of less value to him than to others) prevent his giving 
friendly aid to members of his class not so gifted. Hay 
was for some ten months my chum and bedfellow ; and 
often, after returning from a party late at night, when it 
was " odds with morning which was which," I have found 
him sitting up writing out a Latin or a French exercise 
for some classmate whose intellectual furnishment was 
not of the highest order. 

To his friends it has always been a source of much dis- 
appointment that he did not woo the Muse more zealously. 
Hay's faculty of rapid composition was simply marvellous, 
and would scarcely be believed, even by myself, had I not 
repeatedly witnessed it. I recall an instance in point. 
One evening, shortly before the close of the term which 
was to conclude Hay's college life, I had gone to bed, but 
was not asleep, when Hay entered our room. To my re- 
mark, " Hay, we have not now long to be together, and I 
wish you would write something for me to keep," he drew 
toward him a sheet of paper, lying on the table, and with- 
out any hesitation rapidly wrote off four stanzas which I 
consider — even now that I have come to mature age and 
judgment — one of the most charming odes I have ever 
read. It was entitled" My Dream; " and in the rhythm 
of its numbers and the beauty of its diction it more than 



Memories of Brown 155 

equalled the verse of some of our more pretentious poets. 
In conclusion ; as a dear friend and brother, as his chum 
and bedfellow in college, with all the intimacy those terms 
imply, and having had exceptional opportunities of know- 
ing his life since he left college, I may say of him as 
Horace wrote of his friend, Fuscus : 

'''Integer vitae scelerisque purus 
Noil eget Mauris jaculis nee areti!' 

William Leete Stone, t8^8. 




Professor Nathaniel P. Hill 
(A later portrait) 



1 56 Memories of Brown 

President Wayland as Seen by His 

Nephew 



IT has been frequently alleged against Dr. Wayland, 
both as a teacher and as a man, that he was stern, im- 
perious and dictatorial, without charity for human 
frailty. Nothing can be more unjust. His own ideal of 
right rendered him, it is true, at all times impatient of wil- 
ful wrong in others ; but once he was convinced that a per- 
son sincerely endeavored to do right — even though the 
flesh sometimes got the mastery — no one was more gentle 
and loving than this stern man. Indeed, his practical 
kindnesses towards students struggling after an education 
were both numerous and delicate. An instance in point 
came under the notice of the writer. A poor student 
(now a prominent man), who was forced, if he would go 
through college, to use the strictest economy, had for 
many months literally subsisted on crackers and water. 
(I have often myself seen his barrel of crackers in his 
room in the " Hope Building.") As a very natural conse- 
quence, in accordance with the principle, sana mens in cor- 
pore sano, the student grew poorer in his recitations in 
proportion to his loss of bodily power. At length, observ- 
ing the nature of his scholarship, President Wayland sent 
for the student, and, upon learning the facts of the case, 
gave him the privilege of taking from his cow — a valuable 
Durham, imported by the doctor from England — two 
quarts of milk a day, at the same time adding from his 
own purse — at no time very plethoric — a sum which was 



Memories of Brown 157 

of material advantage to the student. The recitations of 
the student from that time steadily improved, so that he 
finally graduated with the honors of his class. 

Nor was his sternness — as many have supposed — 
habitual. Once freed from the official harness, his inter- 
course with all was marked by a geniality of conversation 
and manner which irresistibly attracted those who were 
so fortunate as to come within the circle of his intimate 
acquaintance. Nor was this all. His sense of the ludi- 
crous was most keen, and while his humor was never 
hilarious, his appreciation of wit in others was quick, and 
his quiet drollery irresistible. It sparkled in his conver- 
sation and sometimes in his letters. The writer well re- 
members that once — in one of the many delightful walks 
which it was his privilege to enjoy with him — in reply to 
a question as to the design of a certain building in the dis- 
tance, he answered, with that merry twinkle which those 
familiar with him will at once recall, " Oh, that is for 
boys whose Latin is bad — who have never been taught 
the distinction between fneum and hium ! " 

I well remember one Sunday morning when Dr. Way- 
land was temporarily supplying the pulpit of the First 
Baptist Meeting-House, then vacant by the death of Dr. 
Granger, I walked with him to the meeting-house and I 
remarked, on seeing a large number of people going in : 
" Uncle, you are going to have a large congregation to- 
day." " Yes, William," he replied, " but they are all well 
dressed ! " 

As an orator. Dr. Wayland cannot, in the popular sense 
of that word, be called great ; yet, if to have the gift of 
speaking with fluency and elegance, and if stirring an 
audience to the very depths of emotional feeling, is elo- 
quence, he certainly possessed that quality to a remark- 
able degree. Indeed, there are passages in some of his 
sermons and addresses which, for power and moral 



158 Memories of Brown 

grandeur, have rarely been surpassed. Of this nature was 
his address dehvered at the commencement of Union 
College in 1854, the year which witnessed the fiftieth anni- 
versary of the presidency of the late Dr. Nott. " When 
Dr. Wayland closed," said a person who was present, to 
the writer, "had we at that moment beheld with mortal 
vision the ' pearly gates ' opening to receive our president, 
no one would have been startled, but considered it a natural 
sequence of that which we had just heard, so completely 
were the time and circumstances of the occasion for- 
gotten." 

It was my privilege, occasionally, to accompany my 
uncle on various errands of mercy ; and in this connection 
an amusing circumstance recurs to me, viz. that Dr. Way- 
land invariably took off his hat to any negro (by whose 
race he was specially beloved) whom he chanced to meet, 
who took off his hat to him — saying in explanation of 
this habit, that he would not be outdone in politeness by 
even the most humble. Indeed, it was quite a standing 
joke among the members of Dr. Wayland's family that 
his hats rapidly became shabby on this account ! 

Dr. Samuel W. Abbott, secretary of the class of '58, 
and a close personal friend of mine, in the course of a 
letter written to me, some years ago, gives an anecdote of 
President Wayland. Dr. Abbott writes : 

" Your uncle, Dr. Wayland, was a grand old man, and 
although I was only one year in college, as a freshman, 
under him, and only a boy of seventeen at that, I came to 
entertain the highest regard for him. 

" I remember, with great pleasure, his sermons in the 
following year at the Baptist church, and especially the 
simplicity and clearness of his style. I have some of his 
sermons now, taken down as I sat in the gallery of the 
church. 

" One day, an exceedingly cold winter Hay, he preached 



Mi 



emories o 



o/B 



rown 



159 



with a big pair of mittens on his hands, the church being 
rather cold for comfort. His wonderful address at a hall 
on Dorrance street, on the occasion of the attack of Brooks 
on Sumner, is another of the vivid recollections which 
come up before me, as he stood on the platform, denounc- 
ing the institution of slavery in the strongest terms." 

William Leete Stone, 18^8. 




John Carter Brown 
A University Benefactor 



160 Memories of Brown 



Brown at the Close of the Fifties 



Brown University from 1855 to 1859 was very different 
from what it is today. The entire faculty consisted of 
10 members, the number of resident graduates was 2, and 
the number of other students was 223. In 1858-59 the 
number fell to 189. The college buildings consisted of 
five, namely University Hall, Manning Hall, Hope Col- 
lege and Rhode Island Hall, together with the president's 
house, to which, perhaps, should be added also the Uni- 
versity Grammar School. The library was a very small 
affair. It was housed in the lower story of Manning 
Hall (the chapel being in the upper story), and con- 
tained, when I entered college, 28,000 volumes. 

Among the faculty, unquestionably Lincoln, or 
"Johnny Link," as we called him, was by far the most 
popular, as he had been and was destined to be for many 
years. The two men to whom I think I owe the most 
intellectually, though they were by no means personally 
my favorite teachers, were Gammell and Chace. I do 
not know that I have ever heard any man who explained 
history more philosophically and made it more entertain- 
ing and attractive by tracing historical events back to 
their ultimate causes than Professor Gammell. From 
what I heard later, I suppose the lamented Diman was 
even superior to him. Chace, on the other hand, was the 
most critical logician. I think that he was the strongest 
man intellectually of the entire faculty. I shall never for- 
get his voluntary class in Butler's Analogy. With a 
wealth of illustrations, breadth of knowledge and large- 



Memories of Brown 161 

ness of view, he crowded the room by his attractive Sun- 
day afternoon classes. 

Unfortunately I never came under the influence of Dr. 
Wayland as president, though I saw him a few times so- 
cially and heard him constantly when he filled the pulpit 
of the old First Baptist Meeting- House after the death 
of Dr. Granger and before Dr. Caldwell became the 
minister. It may well be said that he filled the pulpit. 
He also filled the house. 

Dr. Sears was one of the most acute reasoners and one 
of the most learned men in his specialty that I ever met, 
but after all the mental grip of Chace was far the strong- 
est. 

Sometimes we boys enjoyed an intellectual combat be- 
tween two members of the faculty, one of which at exami- 
nation time I have never forgotten, and, in fact, the ques- 
tion then propounded has puzzled me ever since. It 
always seemed to me odd that Professor Chace should 
come into the recitation room of dear old Dr. Caswell, 
whom we all knew as " Cax," and take a hand in the ex- 
amination of the students. In reply to a question from 
Caswell a student had defined a solid as one in which the 
force of attraction was greater than that of repulsion, a- 
fluid as one in which the two forces were equal, while in a 
gas the repulsive force was greater than that of attraction. 
At this point, Chace put this poser to the student : 

" You say, Mr. A, that in a solid the force of attraction 
is greater than that of repulsion } " 

" Yes, sir." 

" Is it not true that if two unequal forces act upon a 
molecule in opposite directions it will move in the direc- 
tion of the greater force .f*" 

"Yes, sir." 

" If then, in a solid, the force of attraction is greater 
than that of repulsion, why does not a solid shrink until 



162 Memories of Brown 

the two are equal ? " I do not remember the termination 
of the incident, but the question has puzzled me from 
then until now, for I have never yet seen a satisfactory 
definition of these three different states of matter. 

Unquestionably the two students between 1855 and 
1859 who have since becotne the most famous are Rich- 
ard Olney of the class of '56 and John Hay (whose name 
appears in the catalogue as John M. Hay) of the class of 
'58. On class day in 1856 the president of the day was 
George L. Stedman, the orator was Richard Olney and 
the poet was Francis W. White. Of Richard Olney the 
Providence Journal said, " This young gentleman de- 
livered an admirable address on the importance of carry- 
ing literary culture into professional life, a theme well 
adapted to the question and which he discussed in a man- 
ly and scholarly spirit." I am sure that Mr. Olney's later 
life has been as good an illustration of his theme as any 
that he quoted in his oration. In 1857 Daniel Goodwin 
was the orator and George W. Carr the poet. Unfor- 
tunately, I think, these four orations and poems were 
never printed, but I have in my scrap-book a pamphlet, 
printed for private distribution, containing the oration 
and poem delivered on class day, June 10, 1858, by 
Samuel T. Harris and John M. Hay, respectively. Mr. 
Hay's poem is well worth reading today for its rhythm, 
its graceful expression and its sentiment. Both Olney 
and Hay gave promise at that early day of their later 
eminence. 

Until 1870, commencement was always held on the 
first Wednesday in September. Earlier in the history of 
the college, commencement shook the entire state of 
Rhode Island. It was the great event of the year, but 
with increased population and diversity of interests the 
tremor of the state by 1855 had perceptibly lessened. 
But it was still in college annals, naturally, the event of 



Memories of Brown 1 63 

the year. I well remember with what awe as an incom- 
ing freshman I marched down the hill just back of the 
band and saw men whose names I venerated so much 
follow President Sears between the lines of the proces- 
sion and enter the old historic church, Samuel Ames, 
Isaac Davis, John Kingsbury, dear old Quaker, Dr. 
Tobey, Governor Arnold, Rufus Babcock, Heman Lin- 
coln, Dr. Hague, Baron Stowe, Gardner Colby, and 
others. 

Among the commencements, next to the one in which 
I myself graduated ('59), that of 1857 has always stood 
out prominently in my memory. The Alpha Delta Phi 
held a special celebration of the 21st year from its found- 
ing. The oration was delivered by George William 
Curtis on " The Nature, Duty and Responsibility of Pa- 
triotism." It was certainly one of the finest addresses 
which I have ever listened to, only equalled in the vivid- 
ness of my recollection of it by a sermon which I heard 
later by Edwards A. Park, '26, on the text, " I shall be sat- 
isfied when I awake in Thy likeness." 

A very distinguished visitor was received at Brown in 
1856. Mr. Edward Everett, who delivered his oration on 
Washington on April 19, made a visit to the university, 
where he was received by the president and faculty and 
was presented to all the students. Less than four weeks 
after this address, an indignation meeting was held in 
Westminster Hall to express the feelings of the citizens 
at the assault on Senator Sumner by " Bully " Brooks. 
As the first citizen of the state. Dr. Wayland was asked 
to address the meeting. After a number of other speak- 
ers had inflamed the audience almost to the highest pitch 
of anger, the ponderous form of Dr. Wayland was seen 
mounting to the stage. His well-known conservative 
character and the high personal esteem in which he was 
held caused him to receive a most enthusiastic welcome. 



64 



M. 



emortes Oi 



B 



rown 



Instead of inflaming the passion of his audience still 
further, he made a quiet, dignified, logical argument in 
favor of government by law rather than by violence. 
Almost at the end of his speech, he burst out into one 
sentence, a very simple one, but one which made an im- 
pression upon my mind and the minds of everyone pres- 
ent that could never be forgotten : " I was born free and 
I cannot be made a slave." I shall never forget the won- 
derful outburst which followed that sentence. It was im- 
possible for him to continue his speech for perhaps fully 
ten minutes. Everybody shouted himself hoarse and 
hats were thrown into the air and twirled on the tops of 
canes. I have never before and never since seen such a 

wild demonstration. 

William W. Keen, iS^g. 




John Nicholas Brown, 1885 
A University Benefactor 



Memories of Brown 1 65 



The Anp-ell Cradle 



SHORTLY before I entered the university in Sep- 
tember, 1855, President — then professor — James B. 
Angell was married. We boys declared that he had 
won the " mathematical prize " — the daughter of 
dear old Professor Caswell. That she was a " prize " in- 
deed all who ever knew her gracious personality will 
testify. During my sophomore year his first baby was 
born. Dr. Angell then was " professor of modern lan- 
guages," i. e., French and German. His pupils in both 
classes were kept posted as to the approximate date by a 
sub-freshman friend, Mrs. Angell's brother — now Admiral 
Caswell, U. S. A. (retired). 

The two classes met and appointed a committee, of 
whom I remember I was one, and supplied them with 
funds to buy the finest cradle that could be had in 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was a 
splendid mahogany creation, if my memory is not at 
fault, with a lace canopy, and went by clock-work. Upon 
a silver plate the inscription was all engraved — except 
the name and date, which had to await events. As soon 
as both were decided the plate was completed and the 
cradle sent home in triumph. 

When the baby was a year old, Professor and Mrs. 
Angell invited all of the donors who were still in college 
and a number of Providence girls to what was known in 
those simple days as a " party." Towards the close of the 
delightful evening a dozen of the boys gathered around 
the piano and sang, to the tune of " Cocachelunk," the 



166 



Memories of Brown 



song which I give below. It was written by John Hay 
of '58 — who though a year before myself was yet a mem- 
ber of the same modern language class by reason of the 
peculiar arrangements then existing as to degrees. He 
gave me the original manuscript, which a few years ago I 
gave to the university with a lot of other Brunoniana I 
collected while a student. It is now in the library. Hay 
was not satisfied with his first effort and scratched out 
the entire first verse and began anew. When we had fin- 
ished our song Dr. Angell read a metrical response 
" from the baby." 

The cradle has done duty in the second generation and 
for aught I know is still busily employed in the third. 

William W. Keen, 18 ^g. 




President Angell 



Memories of Brown 1 67 

The Angell Cradle. 
Tune — Cocachelunk. 

Once to earth there came an angel, 

Wingless he was wafted down, 
And his wailings woke the echoes, 

Slumbering round the walls of Brown. 

Chorus — Cocachelunk che lunk, etc. 

.Then outspoke a reverend senior. 

Bending with the weight of years, 
" We will give him a reception, 

Worthy of the name he bears." 

" We will frame a mighty cradle. 

Suited to this youthful swell, 
(For the student knows how useful 

Is the art of lying well). 

" It shall be propelled by clock-work. 
Which will teach this juvenile brick, 

In his youth to play the student — 

Wanting 'rocks ' to go ' on tick.' " 

When the mighty work was finished. 

On the gift one glance he threw, 
Crowed his moderate approbation, 

And concluded it would do. 

Now the rolling year has vanished, 

We with loyal hearts and true 
Come to wish " that blessed baby" 

With success, successors too. 

Let us hope for future classes, 

Repetitions of the scene, 
Not like other " angel's visits," 

Neither "few nor far between." 

John Hay, 18^8. 



168 Memories of Brown 



An Initiation Into the " Phils " 



WHEN I entered Brown University as a sopho- 
more, in 1857, I found two open literary soci- 
eties, known as the Philermenian and the United 
Brothers. They occupied two small halls on 
the fourth floor at the north end of Hope College. The 
reputation of each was well known to college boys and 
faculty. The United Brothers bore a name for good 
fellowship, lots of fun and little of literary work, while the 
" Phils " were a working body, with a good standard for 
literary and debating ability. Although a member of 
Alpha Delta Phi, I was desirous of joining one of the open 
societies and was " electioneered " by members of both to 
join, my choice being in favor of the " Phils," where most 
of my special friends were members. 

In due time, in the autumn of 1857, a day was selected 
for initiation into the two open societies and notice was 
publicly given that on a certain Saturday afternoon in 
October, at two o'clock, the exercises of initiation and in- 
troduction would be held in the rooms of the societies, 
whose entrance doors were opposite each other at the 
head of the stairs in the upper hallway. The initiates to 
both societies were quietly told that they would not be ex- 
pected to appear in evening dress, and might be called 
upon to re-dress before the public exercises began. With 
some of my class, I ascended the stairs at the appointed 
hour, and at the foot of the last flight witnessed the initia- 
tory contest going on at the head of the stairs above. 
Four or more stalwart men of the upper classes were 



Memories of Brown 1 69 

stationed at each door, facing each other for the expected 
fray, and each initiate as he reached the landing was'seized 
by the stalwarts of both societies. The pulling, struggling 
and shouting of " Brothers ! " " Phils ! " showed the litter-ary 
contest that was going on. There was no retreat, and up 
we went to meet the ordeal. I was seized by the stalwarts 
of both societies. My hat and coat were soon among the 
debris of the hallway, and waistcoat and shirt were also 
lost in the melee. At one time I found myself in both 
rooms, my head being in the hall of the " Phils " and my 
feet in that of the " Brothers." With me it was arms 
against legs, with a possibility of a separation, my head 
and arms going to the " Phils," and my legs and some part 
of my body, wherever the division should take place, to the 
" Brothers." Only one thing was in my favor, and that was 
my will. I wanted to join the " Phils " and I threw the 
force of my energies towards my friends on the north side 
of the stairway. After much pulling and hauling, I man- 
aged to draw my body across the hall within the desired 
haven. I went into that initiatory service a little over six 
feet in height. I now measure six feet, four and a half 
inches. The oration and poem which constituted the 
literary part of the afternoon exercises were thoroughly 
appreciated, as every part of my body, mind and soul was 
alive to my environment. It cost me just $4.75 to make 
good the losses of that October afternoon. 

Thomas Williams BickiielL i860. 



170 Memories of Brown 

The Philermenians and the United 

Brothers 



WHEN I matriculated at Brown in 1857, two 
literary societies, the Philermenian and United 
Brothers, pressed their rival claims upon the 
members of the entering class. The two soci- 
eties had quarters on the fourth floor of Hope College, 
the former occupying the large room on the right of the 
hallway at the top of the staircase and extending the en- 
tire width of the building on Waterman street, and the 
other occupying the room of equal size on the opposite side 
of the hallway. Each had a library for the use of its mem- 
bers. At commencement time, the present and past mem- 
bers of the two societies alternating every other year with 
the Rhode Island Alpha of the Phi Beta Kappa, marched 
to the First Baptist Church, and listened to an oration 
and poem delivered under their auspices. It was under- 
stood that the expenses of this biennial celebration would 
be borne by the two societies, and they were so borne in 
the earlier history of both ; but when I entered college 
the best days of the two organizations had passed, and they 
were already in that period of decline that ended not long 
after in their dissolution. The United Brothers society, 
however, was much farther advanced in its progress to- 
ward dissolution than was the Philermenian, and its 
finances were already at a low ebb, and had been for some 
time. Both, naturally, were making vigorous efforts to 
secure new members, and the first weeks of my freshman 



Memories of Brown 171 

year were characterized by an active canvass on the part 
of the members of each society so as to secure as large a 
number of the new men as possible. The representations 
of the Philermenians that the United Brothers had few 
meetings and that the society was in a moribund condi- 
tion had weight with me in the electioneering season, and 
I joined the apparently more prosperous society. 

The meetings of the Philermenians were fairly well at- 
tended, and I have still pleasant memories of debates in 
the society hall upon some of the more important public 
themes engrossing attention in those four memorable 
years preceding the Civil War. Though the college 
fraternities were in a flourishing condition, and the in- 
terest of the students was largely drawn to them, there 
was enough of life still remaining in the Philermenian 
society to make membership in it exceedingly profitable. 

But the United Brothers society had found it increas- 
ingly difficult, as the years went by, to hold its regular 
meetings ; and in my freshman year about the only meet- 
ings held were those at the opening of the year, when a 
strong effort was made to impress the freshmen by an ex- 
hibition of vigorous life. In this way the Brothers suc- 
ceeded in securing quite a number of new recruits, the 
society after the election returning to its previous languish- 
ing condition. 

At 'the beginning of my sophomore year, the Philer- 
menian found that the Brothers were making an active 
canvass for new members and were holding a few meet- 
ings in aid of the movement. The electioneering cam- 
paign in its progress seemed to demand extraordinary 
efforts on the part of the Philermenians, and considerable 
thought was given to the situation. The matter was 
handled with much secrecy, so that the Brothers should 
not obtain in advance even a hint, much less any knowl- 
edge, of what was contemplated. The weakness of the 



172 Memories of Brown 

treasury of the United Brothers society seemed to offer 
an opportunity for an approach to a consideration of the 
respective merits of the two societies that would not fail 
to make an impression upon the freshmen. As has been 
stated, there was an old agreement that the expenses of 
the commencement celebrations, held by the two societies, 
should be met jointly. For some time, however, the 
Brothers had failed to pay their share of this indebted- 
ness, and the Philermenians had been compelled to meet 
the entire expense. All calls upon the Brothers in con- 
sequence of this failure on their part were unavailing. 
The treasury of the society was empty, and any hope of 
extinguishing the debt seemed to have no foundation 
whatever. A committee was now appointed by the Philer- 
menians to bring the matter of this indebtedness to the 
attention of the Brothers, and the time selected for the 
presentation of the bill was one of the meetings which the 
Brothers were holding for the purpose of impressing the 
freshmen with the high standing of their organization. 

Two of the sons of Dr. Adoniram Judson, the distin- 
guished missionary, were members of the senior class, and 
both, I think, were members of the Philermenian society. 
The younger of these brothers, Elnathan Judson, win- 
some, exceedingly companionable, and in every way a 
delightful fellow, — whose early promise, alas, was blighted 
by an incurable, lingering disease — was made chairman 
of the committee. Judson had somewhat of the grace of 
public address which characterizes his younger brother 
Edward, the eloquent New York preacher; also the same 
large appreciation of the funny side of things ; and the bill 
of the Philermenians against the Brothers was drawn up 
by him upon sheets of paper pasted together so as to form 
a continuous strip ten or twelve feet long. 

Several weeks after the opening of the term, when elec- 
tioneering on the part of the two societies was at its 



I 



Memories of Brown ' 73 

height, and the Brothers were holding a meeting to which 
by much personal effort they had attracted a large num- 
ber of freshmen, the committee appointed by the Philer- 
menians appeared at the Brothers' hall. A goodly num- 
ber of Philermenians followed the committee up the stair- 
case, and were in waiting outside in order to render any 
needed assistance. The meeting of the Brothers was in 
full swing, and the debaters were giving a display of ora- 
tory which evidently was making a very favorable im- 
pression upon the freshmen. 

" Mr. President : A committee from the Philermenian 
Society!" announced Judson, as he and his associates on 
the committee entered the hall. 

The debate was suspended by the announcement, and 
the presiding officer — I think it was "Tim" Bancroft, but 
I am not sure, so many years have passed since the inci- 
dent —r apparently suspecting some unwelcome intrusion 
on the part of the Brothers' rivals, rose and asked the pur- 
port of the communication the committee desired to make. 

"We have here, Mr. President," said Judson, "a bill 
which the Brothers owe to the Philermenians," and he be- 
gan to unroll the manuscript account, which was soon and 
impressively displayed in its full length. 

With persuasive voice and words, Judson was proceed- 
ing to mention the items of the bill, and to give some ac- 
count of its history, when one of the Brothers rose and 
said: 

" Mr. President, the gentleman is out of order! This 
is an interruption of our debate ! I call for order! " 

The president rapped loudly with his gavel, Judson 
meanwhile endeavoring to add to the statement he had 
made concerning the debt, and apologizing for the seem- 
ing intrusion, but asserting the necessity of having some 
attention on the part of the Brothers to this matter of long 
standing. 



174 



Memories of Brown 



" The gentleman is out of order," shouted the president, 
"entirely out of order;" and he continued to rap loudly 
with his gavel. 

The expected impression upon the freshmen had al- 
ready been made. They had not received much informa- 
tion concerning the debt, it is true, but the length of the 
manuscript exhibited by Judson, on which the bill against 
the Brothers was recorded, indicated that it was no small 
affair. With apparent reluctance, and somewhat of an 
injured air, the committee from the Philermenian society 
now withdrew, and the Brothers took up the debate at the 
point at which it was interrupted ; but manifestly the cli- 
max of interest for the evening had been reached, and the 
orators, eloquent as they were, could not bring the 
astounded freshmen back to the considerations before 
them when Judson and his associates made their appear- 
ance. 

Both societies long ago reached the point of dissolution, 
an unfortunate affair, as I think, in the history of the col- 
lege. There are things that a student may without hesi- 
tation leave out of his college course, and still well equip 
himself for the work of life as a citizen of this great re- 
public ; but he should hold fast to whatever will help him 
to think and talk on his feet with ease and forcefulness. 

Henry S. Burrage, 1861. 




Memories of Brown 1 75 



The College During the Civil War 



MY only college diary — it was written in my 
senior year — opens with these words: " Brown 
University, January i, 1861." From that date 
to July 3, 186 1, when the college year closed, 
the record covers one hundred and seventy-nine pages, 
mostly devoted to events connected with the outbreak 
of the Civil War. These pages reveal the intense inter- 
est with reference to public affairs which prevailed among 
the young men of the college, and especially those who 
were about to graduate. On the first page of the diary 
I find these words : " It promises to be an eventful year. 
Our country, a few months since prosperous, happy, 
united, seems today almost on the brink of destruction. 
The government maintains a masterly inactivity. The 
people no longer have confidence in it — indeed it seems 
to have no confidence in itself. One member of the 
cabinet after another is retiring, and the old public func- 
tionary, yet more lachrymose than ever, stands almost 
friendless and alone amid the ruins of his administration. 
. . . Whatever may be the issue, whether these states 
remain united, one family, or whether they be rent with 
civil feuds, God speed the right." 

These words expressed not only my own thoughts at 
the opening of the eventful year to which they carry us 
back, but they expressed, I am confident, the thoughts of 
the great body of my associates in the college. There 
was on the part of these young men a clear apprehension 
of the fact that we were standing on the threshold of an 



176 Memories of Brown 



important epoch in our history as a nation. The 
columns of the daily papers were watched with unwonted 
interest. Something new and even startling was almost 
sure to appear with each added day. 

Almost at the opening of the new year came the an- 
nouncement of the seizure of Fort Sumter in Charleston 
harbor by Major Anderson. January 8, one hundred 
guns were fired in Providence in approval of this action 
— the first of the many guns we were to hear during the 
four battle-years that followed. The formation of a South- 
ern Confederacy, with Jefferson Davis as president, was 
announced early in February. Then came the inaugura- 
tion of President Lincoln, March 4, and that most impor- 
tant state paper, the inaugural address. John Hay, class of 
1858, was one of Mr. Lincoln's private secretaries. When 
he was graduated he left at Brown the reputation of a 
brilliant writer. His class poem on " The Power of 
Song" made class day, 1858, memorable. Mr. Lincoln 
came to Washington with a reputation. East as well as 
West, for strength in political debate, but it was not 
known that he was a felicitous writer as well. When the 
students at Brown read the closing sentence of the in- 
augural address — " The mystic chords of memory, stretch- 
ing from every battlefield and patriot grave to every liv- 
ing heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will 
yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, 
as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature " 
— they recognized at once the touch of the hand of the 
private secretary of the president, and said, " We know 
who wrote that; John Hay." 

The attack on Fort Sumter, April 12, was the event 
which fired the hearts of the students, as indeed it did the 
hearts of the people throughout the North. The attack 
was commenced in the early morning, but it was not 
known in Providence until the day drew to a close. The 



Memories of Brown 1 77 

telegrams of that evening were confirmed the following 
morning and the excitement, everywhere visible, was great- 
ly intensified when it was known that Governor Sprague 
had telegraphed to President Lincoln tendering his ser- 
vices to the government, also those of the Marine Artil- 
lery and a regiment of infantry. Professor Gammell, at 
the senior recitation in history that morning, said that 
the firing of the Confederates on Fort Sumter was with- 
out a parallel. " It looks as though our flag must go 
down," he said, " but, young men, if it does, it must go up 
again, and that, too, at whatever cost." How, without re- 
buke on the part of the professor, the dust was raised by 
the boys of the class of '6i in that old recitation room in 
University Hall as those words, calmly, yet forcefully, 
were uttered ! 

On Monday, April 15, came Mr. Lincoln's call for 
75,000 men. Among the first to respond were some of 
the students of the college. All desired in some way to 
give expression to the patriotic feelings which had been 
awakened by the threatening attitude and acts of the 
Confederates. An opportunity was soon found. After 
our morning recitation on that day the seniors held a 
meeting, and appointed a committee to wait on President 
Sears and ask permission to raise the stars and stripes 
over University Hall. One of the members of the class 
was from Mississippi. His was the solitary voice raised 
against the proposed action. He had a word to say in 
favor even of the Confederate flag. Having recorded his 
vote he seceded and at length found his way back to 
Mississippi, where he entered the Confederate army and 
died in 1862. 

The consent of President Sears to the flag-raising was 
readily secured. A flag-staff on University Hall was 
soon in place, a large flag was purchased, and on the 
afternoon of Wednesday, April 17, our beautiful national 



1 78 Memories of Brown 

emblem was unfurled in the presence of the faculty, stu- 
dents and a large crowd of citizens, who flocked to the 
campus to participate in services connected with the great 
uprising then in progress throughout the North. Presi- 
dent Sears, Bishop Clark, Rev. Dr. Edward B. Hall, Rev. 
Dr. S. L. Caldwell and ex-Governor Elisha Dyer made 
ringing addresses from the steps of Manning Hall. All 
hearts were thrilled by the eloquent words of the speak- 
ers. When President Sears expressed the hope that the 
young men of the college, who were there to learn — to 
learn to be patriots, he would hope — and had everything 
at stake in this crisis, should show that they appreciated 
the blessings they had inherited from a brave and noble 
ancestry, there were few whose hearts were not flooded 
with unwonted emotions. The significance of fast-ripen- 
ing events was rightly estimated. The gravity of the sit- 
uation was not overlooked. But there was no appeal — • 
there was no need of anything of the kind. The young 
men grouped around the chapel steps were ready for any 
duty which the unfolding future should make known to 
them. In my diary that day, referring to the flag-raising, 
I wrote, " It is the proudest day I have known in col- 
lege." It would be difUcult to give full expression to the 
meaning of these words. It is not too much to say that 
boys became men under the inspiration of the words then 
and there spoken and were influenced henceforth by 
stronger convictions with reference to life and duty. 

Already it was reported that more volunteers had of- 
fered their services to the. government than were needed. 
The organization and drilling of the First Rhode Island 
Regiment was in progress. The Marine Artillery left 
Providence for Washington April i8, and the first de- 
tachment of the First Rhode Island followed April 20. 
That morning Professor Gammell dismissed the senior 
class without hearing the recitation for the day. He rec- 



Memories of Brown 1 79 

ognized the fact that our books had Httle interest for us 
at such a time. Early in the afternoon the troops were 
drawn up in Exchange place and Bishop Clark addressed 
them in reference to their departure for the seat of war. 
When he closed his address there were few tearless eyes 
in the vast throng which the farewell had brought to- 
gether. After a fervent prayer came the march to Fox 
Point, the embarkation, the casting off of the lines, and 
then the steamer started down the bay. Already we 
were beginning to understand something of the meaning 
of war. 

The second detachment of the First Rhode Island fol- 
lowed April 24, completing the regiment's roster. The 
line was formed in Exchange place in the afternoon, and 
Dr. Wayland addressed the troops. The impressive 
scenes of the 2 2d were re-enacted, not only during the ad- 
dress but on the march to Fox Point, as we said farewell 
to classmates and college friends who left for the front 
with this detachment. 

Letters soon began to come from our brothers in the 
field, and we were kept in close touch with events in 
Washington and vicinity, where the troops were quar- 
tered. Our thoughts were with them rather than with 
our textbooks. There was one textbook, however, 
which received considerable attention from the seniors, 
namely Woolsey on International Law, then just pub- 
lished, and which Professor Gammell wisely adopted be- 
cause of its present interest. Almost daily it brought be- 
fore us questions of vital importance in connection with 
passing events, and the lessons afforded the professor 
many a text for interesting and instructive remarks. 

A military company was organized in the college in 
May, and many of the students availed themselves of the 
opportunity for becoming familiar with the school of the 
soldier. On class day, June 13, this company, known as 



180 Memories of Brown 

the University Cadets, had its first parade and was re- 
viewed at Camp Burnside by Colonel Slocum of the Sec- 
ond Rhode Island. At the class day exercises in the 
chapel that forenoon neither the orator nor the poet for- 
got that the country was about to experience the shock 
of arms. We knew that our classmates in the army 
might at any time find themselves in the struggle and 
stress of civil war. Indeed, at the battle of Bull Run, 
July 21, Jenckes of the senior class and a private in the 
First Rhode Island was wounded and fell into the hands 
of the enemy. The other members of the class who were 
in the First Rhode Island — DeWolf, Hoppin and Sack- 
ett — returned to Providence with the regiment at the ex- 
piration of its period of service, were present at the grad- 
uating exercises which occurred September 4, and re- 
ceived their diplomas with their classmates, their patriot- 
ism counting for the studies they were compelled to aban- 
don by reason of their army service. Only Jenckes, who 
was a prisoner, and Rogers, who was serving as a first 
lieutenant in the Seventh Massachusetts Volunteers, were 
absent. 

At the commencement dinner on that day, President 
Sears called attention to the great calamity that had be- 
fallen the country. How his words thrilled his hearers 
as he referred to the sons of the college already in the 
army, and added, " May our Alma Mater always have 
brave sons, ready to meet all the demands of patriotism ! " 
Dr. Wayland added to the impression which President 
Sears's words had made upon all. The college, he said, 
had sent its first fruits. Others must follow. The mas- 
sive frame of the venerable ex-president was swayed with 
deep emotion as he added, " If these strong hands can 
sustain the stars and stripes, if these breasts can form a 
rampart to put far away the wickedness of slavery (slav- 
ery, slavery, what man was born to be a slave!), let us 



H 



Memories of Brown 181 

form an impregnable barrier against the waves of sedi- 
tion, of the most infamous conspiracy ever known, and 
let us say, ' Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther ! ' " 
As Dr. VVayland uttered these burning words he lifted 
those " strong hands" and, crossing his arms and beating 
them upon his breast, he stood before us the very em- 
bodiment of the words that fell from his agitated lips. 
There had been no doubt before where Brown would 
stand in the great conflict which the South invoked; but 
if anything was needed to awaken a deeper feeling of 
patriotic devotion in that hour of the country's need, it 
must certainly have been found in those two addresses. 

The scenes of April, 1861, were re-enacted in the college 
when at midnight. May 23, 1862, tidings were received of 
the defeat of General Banks, and also of a call for added 
troops. It was a hurry call, and at seven o'clock the next 
morning six hundred and thirteen men of the National 
Guard in Rhode Island had reported for duty. On the 
following day the regiment, known as the Tenth Rhode 
Island, left for Washington. Company B of the regiment 
was recruited almost wholly from the students of the col- 
lege, who went to the front under the command of ex- 
Governor Elisha Dyer, a son of the college, who although 
no longer a young man was full of the spirit of patriot- 
ism and furnished a shining example at a critical period 
of the war. The regiment was mustered out September 
I, but many of its student members re-entered the service 
as commissioned oflicers, and had an honorable record on 
many of the great battlefields of the conflict. 

When class day came, the orator returned from Vir- 
ginia on a furlough in order that he might address his 
classmates; while at commencement the valedictorian, 
who had just entered the service for three years or the 
war, delivered his oration in the uniform of a captain of 
infantry. Among the guests at the commencement din- 



182 Memories of Brown 

ner were the governors of the six New England states. 
Many years after the war I learned from one of them — 
Governor Israel Washburn of Maine — that this was no 
chance meeting on the part of the New England gover- 
nors, but they came together at the request of President 
Lincoln in order to avail themselves of the opportunity 
which commencement afforded for a consultation on pub- 
lic matters without attracting public attention. 

The year that followed was a hard one for study on the 
part of the students who could but follow the fortunes of 
the country, dark at times, but wonderfully bright after 
the tidings from Vicksburg and Gettysburg, just as the 
college year closed. One of the speakers at the com- 
mencement dinner in 1863 was General John M. Thayer, 
of the class of 1841. General Thayer had served under 
General Grant in the Mississippi valley, and he eloquent- 
ly eulogized his chief as one who would accomplish what- 
ever he undertook, a prophecy that was abundantly veri- 
fied before the war came to an end. 

From the summer of 1862 until the close of the war I 
saw more Brown men in the army at the front than on 
the campus at Providence. After the close of the Vicks- 
burg campaign, however, a leave of absence enabled me 
to attend the commencement exercises in 1863, while a 
wound received at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, detained 
me at home long enough to allow me to be present at 
commencement on September 6. The centennial of the 
college was observed that day. Goldwin Smith, a guest 
representing the University of Oxford, was one of the 
speakers at the dinner. In his address he endeavored to 
correct an impression that England as a nation was ani- 
mated by hostile feelings towards this country. Chief 
Justice Salmon P. Chase followed him and criticised the 
course of England during the war. " We hope for better 
days," he said. " We look for the time when England 



Memories of Brown 1 83 

will see that she consults neither her true interest nor her 
true honor when she indulges unfraternal sentiments to- 
wards America." Mr. Chase expressed his joy that there 
were illustrious men in England who dared rebuke such 
sentiments, and mentioned as one of them the honorable 
gentleman who had just spoken. General Burnside was 
present and had an enthusiastic reception as he re- 
sponded to a call from the president of the university. 
But it was reserved for George William Curtis to stir the 
deepest feelings of the alumni and friends of the college 
as he asserted the duty of the scholar to the government 
under which he lives. 

Seven months passed and the beginning of the end came 
with the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox. No- 
where was the enthusiasm of the hour stronger than in 
the college. The students joined in the general jubila- 
tion, and then had a bonfire of their own on the college 
campus. This was followed by a more elaborate demon- 
stration on the evening of April 13, when the college 
buildings were illuminated and there were congratulatory 
addresses by President Sears and others. A few days 
passed and all this joy was turned to sorrow at the tidings 
of the assassination of President Lincoln. The emblems 
of victory now gave place to the emblems of mourning. 
There was one man to whom all in Providence looked in 
this hour of national grief — Dr. Wayland. Toward his 
house the people moved as by an irresistible impulse. 
The students joined them. When they reached the 
house and Dr. Wayland understood why they had come, 
he went forth to address them. Professor George L 
Chace has left us a very vivid sketch of the scene : " That 
hair playing in the breeze has been whitened by the 
snows of seventy winters. That venerable form is pressed 
by their accumulated weight. The glorious intellectual 
power which sat upon those features is veiled beneath the 



184 Memories of B 



rown 



softer lines of moral grace and beauty. It is not now the 
Athenian orator, but one of the old prophets, from whose 
touched lips flow forth the teachings of inspired wisdom. 
The dead first claims his thought. He recounts most ap- 
preciatively Lincoln's great services and dwells with loving 
eulogy upon his unswerving patriotism and his high civic 
virtues. Next, the duties of the living and the lessons of 
the hour occupy attention. Then come words of devout 
thanksgiving, of holy trust, of sublime faith, uttered as he 
only ever uttered them. They fall upon that waiting as- 
sembly like a blessed benefaction, assuaging grief, dispel- 
ling gloom and kindling worship in every bosom. God is 
no longer at a distance, but all around and within them. 
They go away strengthened and comforted." 

At the commencement that followed, Professor 
Angell in eloquent words welcomed the sons of the col- 
lege who had served in the army or navy during the war. 
It was almost like a roll-call of the professor's former 
pupils as the names came tripping from his lips. Some 
were not there to respond, indeed they would never re- 
turn to these once familiar and fondly cherished scenes 
to renew the delightful associations of other days. A 
memorial tablet recording their names was erected in 
Manning Hall not long afterward — a fitting testimonial 
of the undying affection in which the college holds those 
who laid down their lives for their country in the Civil 
War. 

Henry S. Burrage, 1861. 



Memories of Brown '85 



The Origin of ''Alma Mater" 




HEN I was in college the only 
literary publication undertaken by 
the students was a small folio 
issued annually, called the " Brown 
Paper," conducted by the secret, 
or Greek-letter societies, and 
containing lists of their members, 
items of college news and edi- 
torial matter. At the beginning 
of the college year each society 
elected an editor from the senior 
class, and in the autumn of i860 I 
was thus honored by my fraternity, the Psi Upsilon. 

It was rumored that I had been guilty of some attempts 
at poetasting, and when the editors met for conference 
and to decide upon the work to be allotted to each, I was 
urged to contribute some poetry. Moreover, it being 
represented that there was a generally felt want of songs 
distinctively pertaining to Brown, it was agreed that a 
college song would be the most acceptable form of rhyme. 
I accordingly undertook the task. 

I felt that it would be useless to hope for popularity and 
currency for anything that I might write unless I adapted 
it to some well-known air, and I therefore gave consider- 
able thought to the selection of such an air. 

At that time there was no organized glee club at Brown, 
but some of the students who were musically incHned 
were in the habit of meeting occasionally of an evening 



186 Memories of Brown 

on the chapel steps and joining in choruses of various 
sorts. One of these, which was frequently sung, was 
" Araby's Daughter," and I had often been struck with its 
sonorous swing and the fine harmony of its chords, and it 
appeared to me that the metre of this song was well suited 
to the sentiment of the verses which I proposed to write ; 
so I finally selected it for my purpose. 

The song was originally entitled " Old Brown," and 
when published it gained some favorable comments as a 
composition, but to my disappointment failed entirely to 
be taken up as a college song, and was, as I supposed, 
consigned to oblivion. 

Years afterwards, some one sent me a programme of a 
concert given by the Brown glee club in Providence, in 
which this song, called " Alma Mater," appeared as the 
concluding number, and I subsequently learned that it 
had been adopted as the song of Brown. 

How it came to be resurrected I never knew, but con- 
cluded that some member of the glee club had stumbled 
upon it in rummaging over old files of the " Brown Paper." 

I need not say that it has been very gratifying to me 
that the verses in which I endeavored to express the senti- 
ments animating the loyal sons of Brown in 1860-61 have 
been appreciated and deemed worthy of adoption by their 
successors, and it is pleasant to think that the " offering 
of praise " long ago laid upon the altar of Alma Mater is 
still daily renewed by her no less loyal sons of a later day. 

James A. DeWolf, 186 1. 



Memories of Brown 187 



Random Recollections of 1861 



I REMEMBER that in some recitation on mathe- 
matics under Professor Caswell a number of students 
had " flunked," all answering, when called upon, 
" Not prepared." At each successive answer the 
gloom deepened on our teacher's face. Finally he called 
" Caswell," (his son). Tom felt impelled by the strange 
code of student ethics to be unprepared where his class- 
mates had failed, so he too answered, " Not prepared." 

Thereupon the dignified teacher dropped the profes- 
sorial attitude and, assuming the parental tone, said, 
" Thomas ! Go to the blackboard and draw that dia- 
gram." And thereupon Thomas did it ! 

Many well remember that Professor Caswell's experi- 
ments did not always succeed. He would then pass to 
the next subject with the remark, " Never mind, gentle- 
men, the principle remains true all the same." It was dif- 
ferent with Professor Chace's experiments. They never 
failed, because, as I know from my having often gone 
through them with him, he always rehearsed them before 
his lectures. It was the custom then to review the last 
lecture before going on with a new^ subject. About half 
an hour would be thus spent in recitation and then a bevy 
of girls would file in from the high school and hear the 
lecture with us to the distraction of attention on the part 
of both sets of listeners. 

Among our teachers who were gifted with power to 
impart information to their students I remember well Pro- 
fessor Greene, irreverently called " Betsey." It was a 
pleasure to be under him in any mathematical study. I 
must qualify this, however, when I recall the names of 



188 Memories of Brown 

some of those to whom such studies were a burden, no 
matter by whom taught. 

I had the excehent excuse of Hving two miles away 
from college, " out of town," as it was then considered, 
when we had not even an omnibus running to town, and I 
was excused from attendance at chapel. I remember my 
surprise at the frank avowal of some fellow-students that 
they attended the First Baptist Church because they 
thought it had a good effect upon their college standing. 

The chemical laboratory was then in the basement of 
Rhode Island Hall. The hot-air furnace was in the 
middle of the laboratory, and pipes running through the 
room carried heated air to the lecture rooms above. Well 
do I remember the speed with which Professor Chace and 
his class ahke hastened forth when a dense cloud of vile 
smelling sulphureted hydrogen gas came pouring out of 
the registers in their lecture room ! I wonder now, when 
I meet a certain white-haired business man on the street, 
whether he remembers when he mixed the necessary in- 
gredients, and opening the door into the hot-air chamber, 
shoved the vessel containing them inside, where the heat 
of the furnace soon stimulated the chemical reaction that 
drove us forth above ! Well may he remember it, for, if 
my memory serves me, he was rusticated for it. 

One day several of us went to hear a speech in Rail- 
road Hall, over the station on Exchange place. Little 
did any of us imagine that in the long, gaunt form 
then addressing us we saw the immortal future president 
of the United States, who was to free the slaves and save 
the Union. I must confess that I was unfavorably im- 
pressed by his manner. It was grotesque and uncouth. 
He made faces at the audience and set them laughing. 
He was interrupted by a man in the audience who asked 
questions not always pertinent. The audience hooted 
and hissed, trying to shut the man off, but Lincoln showed 



I 



Memories of Brown 1 89 

his skill by asking for fair play for him, and during the 
rest of his speech he would occasionally address himself 
to this particular man. 

While I was in college, the Putnam Phalanx of Hart- 
ford, that famous corps, made a visit to Providence and 
among the sights of the town they were shown Brown 
University. All would have gone well there, had not 
someone unversed in college students' ways provided 
policemen to keep order on the campus. As soon as these 
policemen entered the college grounds, trouble began. 
Each hoot and yell from the students brought out more 
students to add increased volume to the vociferous disap- 
proval of the presence of the policemen, some of whom 
were roughly handled. The row was only ended by with- 
drawing the policemen from the college premises. 
Aroused to indignation and elated by success, the stu- 
dents now became discourteous to the visitors, the Put- 
nam Phalanx. They marched into Manning Hall through 
a lane of students, all shouting in unison and in time with 
the step of the Phalanx : " Left — left — left her far be- 
hind you — Right — right — right over yonder." I can 
see now the comical aspect of the hurrying last little 
soldier in his Continental uniform as he brought up the 
rear before the students closed in on him. 

Why is it that the ludicrous little nothings from our 
early days leave such vivid impressions on our minds, 
while we forget beyond recall many of the great events 
we would fain remember? 

These brief recollections are but trifles light as air, but, 
though not to be found in grave histories, what would we 
not give for such unconsidered trifles yielding similar de- 
tails of university life during the middle ages ! And so the 
time may come when to some distant generation these 
trifling incidents may serve to illustrate the university life 
of an extinct age. Amasa M. Eaton, 1861. 



190 Memories of Brown 

Memories Light and Tender 

— \ 

TOWN AND GOWN are closely interwoven in ^ 

my recollection of college days. Even the old 
time-stained building that answered the purpose 
of a watch house, and which stood on the corner 
of College and Benefit streets, had its place in the college 
life of those days, for thither occasionally a student was 
conducted who, perhaps, ventured to destroy some of the 
old oil lamps for which gas had been substituted. And 
then comes the memory of the night-watchman when on 
a stormy, snowy evening he issued from its mysterious 
portals so enveloped in coats and mufiflers that only his 
feet were visible, and not infrequently over it all he wore 
a cape, which it was not difhcult for an agile student to lift 
and drop over the head of the guardian of the peace. He 
carried an enormous rattle, and when he sprung it under 
the window, and from the depths of his muffler cried fire \ 
fire ! fire ! the startled one jumped from bed, raised the 
window and hurriedly asked, " Where is the fire } " to 
which might come the answer, " I don't know, but I guess 
it's down toward the Tockwotton House." Why, I re- 
member two fire companies, who, coming from different 
directions, met near my window one evening on their way 
to a fire and there stopped and discussed the question, 
" Where is the fire } " I never found out whether they 
reached the fire or not, and perhaps it was not very im- 
portant after all that they should, for if the building was, 
even for those days, of any height, though the brakes of 
the hand engines were manned by students and citizens 



Memories of Brown 1 9 1 

as well as firemen, the fire had to burn down to the stream, 
since the stream could not be made to reach up to the 
fire. 

College hazing was indeed a brutal performance, and, if 
I remember correctly, in its severity it ended with our 
class. We hazed the freshmen, and the next day Presi- 
dent Sears summoned us one by one before him and 
asked, "Did you take part in the 'smoking-out' of the 
freshmen last evening?" If the reply was " Yes, sir," — and 
that was the almost universal answer, — the student was 
suspended from further college connection. One fellow, 
the present surgeon-general of the colony of Trinidad, 
British West Indies, and the author of our college song, 
came from the meeting with the president without the 
sentence being pronounced ; he felt so badly that he went 
back and soon re-appeared, his name added to the " honor- 
roll." We thought that a college without a sophomore 
class was a serious matter for the college and so we met 
in " Brothers' Hall " and told one another so and sent a 
committee to intimate the same fact to the faculty. The 
committee soon returned and announced that "uncondi- 
tional surrender " was the reply of the faculty. Well, we 
surrendered and were restored. The day after the restora- 
tion, Professor Lincoln was informed that the class had 
returned to their college duties. His dry, laconic reply 
was : " Why, so soon ?" We then realized that the college 
could do without us; a tremendous thought for a sopho- 
more. 

Speaking of Professor Lincoln, we all remember what 
a charming, graceful, easy speaker he was, and yet I recall 
when presiding at a dinner of the New York alumni some 
years since. Professor Lincoln being on my right, repre- 
senting the college in the absence of the president, that 
as the time approached for the speeches he was suddenly 
seized with a stage fright, and, oblivious of those around 



192 Memories of Brown 

him, he said over and over again loud enough for me to 
hear, " I shall make an awful failure." Once on his feet 
" Richard was himself " and at his best. 

One incident in the history of secret societies in Brown 
University it seems should be recorded. Sometime sub- 
sequent to the Civil War, when President Wayland was 
in oflfice and the late Hon. Samuel G. Arnold was a mem- 
ber of the corporation, the advisability of doing away with 
secret societies in college was under consideration. Presi- 
dent Wayland strongly advocated the measure of aboli- 
tion, and, as is well known, whatever President Wayland 
advocated was generally adopted. Governor Arnold was 
one of the charter members of Psi Upsilon in Brown 
University, and to the end of his life an enthusiastic mem- 
ber of that organization. He strongly and unflinchingly 
defended the secret societies, then five or six in number, 
frankly opposing the views of President Wayland. The 
result of the discussion was that secret societies were not 
done away with, and, although the mode of conducting 
them may have been modified, they are today an import- 
ant factor in college life. The whole fraternity system at 
Brown is largely due to the character and manly action of 
Governor Arnold. 

In our senior year came the rumor of war and calls 
from the various armories for men to enlist, and we stu- 
dents spent more time at the armories than in the lecture 
room. Meeting on the street one day, on our way to or 
from an armory, one of our most dignified professors, he 
stopped and said, " Come back to your studies ; it is not 
well to breathe any longer this exciting atmosphere." 
And yet we kept on breathing it until some of our num- 
ber marched away from the sound of the college bell to 
the tap of the drum. 

A very tender memory comes to me. One lovely sum- 
mer day as we came out of a religious service at the col- 



« 



Mem 



ones Oi 



B. 



rown 



193 



lege, a classmate who seemed much impressed by the 
service as we sauntered down the hill together said with 
warmth, evidently derived from the tender character of the 
service, " Why cannot we have this kind of thing all the 
time ?" I think it was the last time I saw him ; for soon 
after he was drowned, but the memory of that walk with 
Chamberlain has been with me through life. 

Some one has said, " He who calls what is vanished 
into being enjoys a bliss like that of creating," and so, as 
we face the realities of today, all are grateful for that 
God-given power of memory which recreates for us the 
realities of yesterday. 

William W. Hoppin, 1861. 




194 Memories of Brown 



A Class Expelled 



IT is a rare, if not unique, occurrence that practically 
a whole class is expelled from college, but it has hap- 
pened in the history of Brown. When the class of 
1861 became sophomores, in September, 1858, the 
perplexing question arose, " What shall be done about the 
freshmen ?" 

The custom of initiating freshmen in the various ways, 
more or less mild, known as hazing, had been so long es- 
tablished in college, without special rebuke, the students 
naturally assumed that, while the practice might not be 
openly approved, it had come to be regarded as one of 
the incidents to be expected in the introduction to college 
life. 

A large majority of the class of 1861 were opposed to 
the hazing which had been customary. They had suffered 
quite severely from repeated visits of the previous class, 
in which doors had been smashed, and furniture broken, 
and, in some cases, personal injury inflicted. 

The class of 1861 sought to introduce a reform and it 
met the usual fate of reformers. They undertook to re- 
duce the customary harsh conduct to a harmless and 
pleasant affair. They knew, however, that so radical a 
vote as an interdict of hazing would not be recognized by 
some of the class and it was thought that even the fresh- 
men might feel somewhat slighted if the sophomores 
neglected to visit them and to show them the attention 
that had been given to previous classes. 

Accordingly it was voted in class meeting that no fresh- 



Memories of Brown 195 

man should be visited more than once and then in a 
gentlemanly manner. To insure this result, the class 
voted to attend in a body. Classes were small then. In 
1858 there were 29 seniors, 42 juniors, 58 sophomores and 
65 freshmen enrolled, but not all of these were in attend- 
ance in college and some were special students, not re- 
garded as really members of the class. All of the mem- 
bers of the class were not able to attend in any one even- 
ing. Between thirty and forty took part altogether, but 
not all at one time. Enough, however, were present each 
evening to insure the mild policy which the class had 
adopted. The visits were cordially received by the fresh- 
men in every case. The traditional flowerpot was at hand, 
but as nearly all the freshmen furnished pipes and tobac- 
co for their guests, the latter were used in most cases. 

The freshmen sang songs or danced or made speeches 
according to their choice. The visits were short and all 
were completed in two or three evenings. No complaint 
was made, no injury was done to person or property and 
no unpleasantness marred the fun in which both classes 
participated. In several cases we were invited to call 
again. We had accomplished what we desired in adapt- 
ing an ancient custom, often vexatious, to the mutual 
pleasure of both classes. 

To our great surprise five or six weeks afterwards every 
man in the class received a notice to call at the president's 
office. Somebody gave us a tip as to what it was about 
and we held a class meeting to discuss the situation. We 
were to be required to sign a paper stating that we were 
sorry for having hazed the freshmen ; that we would never 
do so again ; that we would abstain from all disorders in 
the future and use our influence against them. The class 
considered the matter, and refused to sign a paper im- 
plying that we had done wrong, which no one would ad- 
mit. Indeed, we thought we had done a very creditable 



196 Memories of Brown 

thing. There had been no violence and no unpleasant- 
ness. Accordingly, all filed in, one after another, and re- 
fused to sign the paper presented, except one or two who 
felt obliged to save their scholarships, and some who were 
away. All the rest of the class, between thirty and forty, 
were " dismissed from college." We gathered in the room of 
the United Brothers, then in the north division, south half 
of fourth floor of Hope College, and were there all night, 
in conference, sending and receiving messages, between 
our class and the faculty, who had a meeting in the presi- 
dent's house until the " wee sma' hours." We became 
satisfied that we would not be out of college long, so we 
did not separate. The next day we went down the river 
for a clambake, and when we got back we found a modifi- 
cation of the paper to be signed. It was, in substance, 
that there had been a misapprehension as to the college 
laws and that we " regretted the misapprehension." 

The situation appeared quite clearly in the newspapers 
at the time, from which the following are selections : 



Boston Journal, October 13, 1858: 

" Brown University. 

" A dispatch in another column states that a number of 
students in the sophomore class of Brown University 
have been suspended in consequence of some disobe- 
dience. The dispatch is from an authentic source, but 
gives no definite reason for the dismissal. It will be seen 
that the writer states that every member of the sophomore 
class was dismissed, which can hardly be correct." 



Providence Journal, October 14, 1858: 
"Brown University: 
" We are pleased to learn that the difficulties in Brown 



W 



Memories of Brown 197 

University have been satisfactorily arranged, and all the 
students who were suspended have been restored. A 
little examination showed them that their position was 
indefensible and they have promptly placed themselves 
right. In that they were not called upon to make any 
sacrifice of personal honor, they have only done what 
gentlemen ought to do under such circumstances. The 
laws of the college forbid such irregularities as were the 
cause of the suspension, and in agreeing to abide by the 
laws of the college they only submit to the requirements 
of just authority. We can make great allowance for a 
spirit of fun in young persons, and even for the pretty 
severe joking that seems almost to belong to academic 
life, but the ' hazing ' had gone quite too far, and the 
government of the college had no other course than the 
one which it took. 

" Since the above was written we have received the fol- 
lowing communication from a committee of the class, and 
we publish it with much pleasure. We stated yester- 
day that the class voted in class meeting that they would 
not give up the immemorial custom of hazing. This, we 
are informed, was not exactly so. They only resolved 
that they would mitigate the practice, and that no man 
should be hazed twice, as some of them had been the year 
before. The purpose of their meeting was therefore to 
ameliorate the system rather than to insist upon it." 

Then follows the communication from H. S. Burrage, 
T. T. Caswell and J. A. D'Wolf, in which it was stated: 
" It had been understood by all that ' hazing ' was not con- 
trary to college laws, as it had been a custom here for 
years and accordingly the class did not consider it just 
for the president to require any such pledge of them, un- 
less he also required it of the other classes. It was there- 
fore voted that the class should sign no such paper from 
the president." 



198 Memories of Brown 

Providence Daily Tribune, October 14, 1858: 

" Those students who were dismissed from college on 
Monday evening and Tuesday morning, to the number 
of thirty, were reinstated Wednesday noon. The same 
hand that applied the rod administered the healing balm. 
The worthy Mater could ill afford to lose so many promis- 
ing children and all have been restored to her affectionate 
bosom." 

Then follows a communication from a number of the 
class stating the situation as follows : " From time immemo- 
rial in Brown, as well as in all other like institutions, it has 
been the custom to initiate in due form the newly fledged 
freshmen, or to go through the operation commonly called 
'hazing.' The college laws nowhere prohibit this or 
any kindred act, and never until after this year's 
' hazing ' was completely finished was a single word said 
against it by the president. Consequently we felt that we 
were disobeying no law or regulation in sustaining this 
custom for the present year and while we did not expect 
that the act would be openly countenanced by the presi- 
dent or faculty, still we supposed, as in years past, it would 
be 'winked at.' The Journal of Wednesday morning 
says that the ' hazing ' had year by year grown more severe 
and that this last hazing was worse than any before. 
This we deny in toto. Last year when we were freshmen 
the sophs cam.e four and five times and not only smoked 
us out, but smashed doors, broke furniture and in one or 
two cases committed personal injury. This year, how- 
ever, the class of 1861 voted to haze but once and in a 
decent and gentlemanly manner. With this understand- 
ing we went around and in'no case has there been a single 
complaint, and the freshmen seemed to think as little 
about it as we did. Five weeks have passed without any- 
thing being said about it by the president, when suddenly 



« 



Memories of Brown 199 

we receive information that the whole class is to be sum- 
moned to sign a paper stating that we are sorry for hav- 
ing hazed the freshmen, that we will never do so again, 
that we will abstain from all disorders in college hereafter 
and use our influence and exertions against them. 

" We refused to sign the paper and consequently more 
than thirty were dismissed from the university. After- 
wards we were requested to sign, as a new law, that we 
would never engage in hazing again. If it was to be a 
new law it must of course be a law for the whole college 
and signed by other classes as well as ours. As it was of- 
fered to our class alone we were obliged to refuse this also. 

" Wednesday morning we learned that the president 
was willing to receive us back upon signing a paper that 
if hazing was included in the laws we had misapprehended 
them and regretted having unconsciously broken them. 
As this was in accordance with our original position and 
did not imply a wilful breach of college laws we were willing 
to sign such a paper, as we would have been at the first." 

The spirit of the class had been to prevent disturbance 
and to cultivate a friendly feeling between the classes. 

The faculty at length perceived this, so the cards ran 
thus : 

" Brown University 
October ii, 1858. 

Mr. Your son is dismissed from college. 

B. Sears, President." 

" Brown University 
October 13, 1858. 

Mr. Your son is restored to college. 

B. Sears, President." 

In college, as elsewhere, the necessity for discipline de- 
pends upon the point of view. t j lu <r^- oz 

Jo/iu Ji. Stiuess, 1801. 



200 



Memories of Brown 



The Passing of the Ancient Well- 
Curb 




\ HE old well-curb which stood for many 
years around the opening of the well 
near Hope College passed away some- 
time during the year 1861-2. It was 
a square structure, boarded up about 
three feet from the ground, with cor- 
ner posts extending upward seven or 
eight feet and supporting a roof. In 
this roof the horizontal windlass, 
^ consisting of a six-inch shaft carry- 
ing a drum some two feet in dia- 
meter, was placed. The rope, to which the bucket was 
attached, was around this drum. Around the shaft was 
wound a strong leather strap fastened to a heavy stone 
which acted as a counterbalance to the bucket. 

It frequently occurred that a student, after filling his 
pitcher or pail, would amuse himself by pulling the 
bucket down to the surface of the water and, without fill- 
ing it, let go the rope and allow it to come up empty. 
This, owing to the weight of the counterbalance, it would 
do with an increasing velocity, which would land it in the 
roof of the well-curb with a good deal of force and more 
or less noise. A good many buckets were knocked to 
pieces in this way. 

I was occupying the room in Hope College on the third 
floor overlooking the well. One night in the fall of 186 1 



Memories of Brown 201 

or the spring of 1862, I was awakened from sleep by the 
sound of the bucket plunging into the roof of the well- 
curb. I heard voices, too, so that I knew that two or more 
students were at the well. After allowing the bucket to 
shoot up out of the well a few times, they varied the sport 
by pulling the bucket out horizontally on to the campus 
the full length of the rope and then letting go, allowing it 
to spring back again. This was more enjoyable, for it 
made more noise, as the bucket had to jump the board- 
ing of the curb in its mad plunge into the roof. After a 
few performances of this sort, the attempt to pull the rope 
out to its utmost length brought so much stress upon the 
curb as to overturn it. For a few minutes all was still. 
Presently there was a flicker of light against my window. 
On looking out I saw the prostrate curb had been filled 
with combustible material, which was on fire. Edward O. 
Stevens, a senior, who is now and has been for many 
years a missionary in India, occupied the room directly 
below mine. He raised his window and called up to me, 
"Clarke, are you at the window .f*" I answered, "yes." 
" What do you think we ought to do 1 " he asked. I told 
him I thought there was but one thing we could do and 
that was to let it burn. It was not long before a heap of 
smouldering embers and a few charred sticks was all that 
remained of the old well-curb. 

The next morning, as the few students stood around 
the mouth of the old well, now covered with fresh boards, 
we were touched by the sense of our loss. While we 
waited there for the chapel bell to call us to prayers, we 
stood in a circle around the ashes of the departed and 
clasping each others' hands sang " Auld Lang Syne " and 
other appropriate hymns. 

Benjamin F. Clarke^ 186^. 



202 Memories of Brown 



In Brown's Centennial Year 



WHEN I first entered college there was only the 
front row of buildings: Hope College, Man- 
ning Hall, then used as library below and 
chapel above. University Hall and Rhode 
Island Hall. These have since all been changed radically 
within. The ell has been added to Rhode Island Hall, 
the museum created and the interior very much altered. 
Originally there were two large lecture-rooms on the 
ground floor, the northern one occupied by the depart- 
ments of philosophy and mathamatics; the south one 
specially fitted up for general chemistry and physiology. 
Professors Caswell and Greene shared the first and Pro- 
fessor Gammell had the second, though lectures by Pro- 
fessor Dunn were also given there. Somewhere in the 
building were secreted the human skeleton and the mani- 
kin, which were subject to periodic and more or less 
lengthened disappearances that to this day are not wholly 
accounted for. I have no doubt that the former figured 
in certain initiations as the veritable skeleton of a traitor 
to the mystic order. 

The present chemical laboratory, which old alumni 
vainly try to call Rogers Hall, was built in 1862, and soon 
afterwards Professor John Peirce succeeded to the chair, 
with Professor Appleton as assistant and the present 
writer as bottle-washer and manufacturer of H2S. 

At the southwest corner of the front campus stood then 
the fine old colonial house, since moved to Waterman 
street, and now numbered 72. It was the residence of 



M, 



em ones Oi 



Bro 



wn 



203 



Colonel William W. Brown of the First Light Infantry. 
Where Mr. S. R. Dorrance's house now stands was a 
wooden cottage, in which in my senior year I had a capi- 
tal room. Back of Rhode Island Hall was another wooden 
frame house. 




Professor William Whitman Bailey, 1864 
(From an old photograph) 



There were no suites in any of the dormitories. A 
man's one room was his castle, and if he were a freshman 
it might happen that he would be called upon to defend 
it. I lived outside of college and have no hazing experi- 
ence to record. Indeed, even then, that atrocious practice 
was on the wane. No attention whatever was given to 
sanitary conditions or requirements. Basins were gener- 



204 Memories of B. 



rown 



ally emptied from the windows of the dormitories, with or 
without the warning cry, " Stand from under ! " Indeed, 
the propulsion of the liquid and the cry of alarm might 
be simultaneous. Every one had a stove, and ashes were 
cast into the halls, whence they were now and then re- 
moved. It was a mercy that no disastrous fire ever oc- 
curred. We all devoutly believed that the buildings were 
fireproof. Yet, the shabby, insanitary condition of the 
old-time dormitories at Brown, it is only fair to say, was 
not a whit worse than that which prevailed at Union or 
Yale or even Harvard. It was a reproach to all our col- 
leges of that day that a young man, leaving a comfortable 
or even refined home, should suddenly encounter such 
demoralizing conditions. 

Back of the chemical laboratory, and about the time 
that it was built in 1862, there began to be planted a grove 
of class trees, on the pleasant slope where now stand the 
swimming pool, the Lyman Gymnasium and Sayles Hall. 
The custom prevailed well into the seventies. It was 
fondly believed that these trees would abide for at least a 
century. One, I recall, was marked with a label. Yet 
under the exigencies of university expansion they all dis- 
appeared, nor have I ever heard of a remonstrance. With 
some little expense and trouble they could have been 
moved to more favorable localities. Besides the class 
elms there were some vigorous maples and one or two oaks. 

When I am asked what we did between recitations, my 
immediate answer is : " Played cards." Indeed, I saw 
so much of high-low-jack, euchre and whist that I have 
loathed cards ever since. Singing'on the chapel steps in 
spring and summer was spontaneous and general. Glee 
clubs were of later formation, so was the Hammer and 
Tongs, which succeeded to the room of the United 
Brothers. There many a young artist first displayed his 
talent in " Box & Cox " and " A Thumping Legacy." 



Memories of Brown 205 

Commencement in our day came in September. It 
was then that by common consent society people returned 
from their various summer resorts. The exercises pre- 
sented features no longer known. In more or less classic 
Latin, pronounced in the old English way, the salutatorian 
addressed the formosae puellae in the galleries and spoke 
words of sonorous but unknown wisdom to corpora- 
tion, faculty and students. There were some dozen or 
fifteen speakers, arranged in groups, and only Professor 
Dunn, and later Professor Bancroft, knew the significance 
of those groups as to rank. The undergraduate body 
always maintained that these censors rigorously excluded 
all originality from the orations. I do not feel so sorry 
for this now as I did then. After some four or five men 
had discoursed on " Great Minds in History," or " Aris- 
totle's Views of the Future of Man," there was music and 
the graduates in large numbers bolted for the green out- 
side the church. There, stretched under the trees, they 
discoursed of old times, while spry sophomores or juniors 
" trotted," or, as we then said, " electioneered," the in- 
coming freshmen for the fraternities. The staple viands 
of the dinner, which was held in a big tent on the cam- 
pus, were watermelon and very ancient cold turkey. 
A friend of mine maintained that he wrestled with 
the same upper joint on five consecutive commence- 
ments. Yet this was before the discovery of modern 
preservatives. 

My own graduation year was that of the university cen- 
tennial. President Sears gave in the church his great 
historical discourse, and the Central Glee Club sang an 
ode written for the occasion by Bishop Burgess. There 
was a grand dinner in the tent at which seven hundred 
guests were present. Among many good speeches by 
famous men we had one from Goldwin Smith, who was 
next day made a LL.D. by the university. Several poems 



206 



Memories of Brown 



were read, the best of which, I need not say, was Major 
John Hay's " Centennial," beginning 

" A hundred times the bells of Brown 
Have rung to sleep the idle summers, 
And still today clangs clamoring down 
A greeting to the welcome comers." 



William Whitmmi Bailey, 1864. 




Relics of an Elder Day on College Hill 



Memories of Brown 207 



The Old Textbook Burials 



THE " Whately Burial," famous in Brown tradition, 
passed away with the outbreak of the Civil 
War. It was no longer a time for masquerad- 
ing and buffoonery. If there were to be pa- 
rades of any kind, by common consent they were of a mar- 
tial character. 

While the old burials lasted, however. Brown could boast 
a unique and interesting custom, often calling forth high 
literary proficiency or histrionic and poetic powers. The 
juniors took this method of wreaking their spite against 
certain obnoxious textbooks — not in themselves repre- 
hensible, to be sure, but the books demanded hard work 
and must be punished therefor. For quite a time Whate- 
ly and Spalding — rhetoric and logic — were especially 
condemned. The poor authors were tried and con- 
demned on the flimsiest curcumstantial evidence. In 
carnival array, each one vying with his neighbor to rig 
himself in striking apparel, the juniors marched through 
the streets escorted by the other undergraduates and a 
vast number of interested youth. With red-fire and Ro- 
man candles, they acted then much as they do now after 
an athletic victory. Many staid, reverend citizens, now 
pillars of church or state or bar, have we seen playing 
monkey-shines in these old-time processions. Often, to- 
day, they are all too ready to condemn another genera- 
tion by no means worse than themselves. The difference 
in point of view between "in college" and "out " is pro- 
found and radical. 



208 Memories of Brown 

After a lengthened parade through the chief streets and 
a march past the houses of certain favorite professors, the 
procession embarked at Fox Point, and proceeding down 
the river for some distance consigned the books, which 
by the way were contained in a coffin, to the depths pro- 
found, while the band played a dirge. There was always 
an oration and a poem, many of which were clever and 
some even brilliant. A high priest conducted appropri- 
ate services, while Mephisto stood ready to thrust the ob- 
noxious authors, considered to be embodied in their 
works, into outer darkness. It was a high honor to be 
chosen for any of the offices of the burial : priest, orator, 
poet, odist, were all supposed to be selected with great 
care. 

I do not know in what year these burials began, but 
they were in full blast in the three years I was at Lyon's 
School, as the University Grammar School was more 
properly called. As I have said, the war killed them, but 
after a lull of some years they were revived in a some- 
what different form. The exercise now became a crema- 
tion, and with other objects of opprobrium it was the 
rather personal habit to vituperize teacher as well as 
author and to bury the former where it was possible, as 
the unforgivable parent of such arid, wearisome stuff. 
No biting or sarcastic terms were of sufficient force, 
often, to express the class contempt or bitterness, and 
when the custom thus became cruel and lost its old 
pleasant aroma, it was but a question of time as to its 
passing. 

William Whitman Bailey, 1864. 



Memories of Brown 209 



The Faculty in the Sixties 



PROFESSOR Albert Harkness was ever regarded 
by me as the embodiment of Greek culture and 
refinement. Never have I discovered in him the 
slightest irritation at the stupidity or the pecca- 
dilloes of his pupils. On a certain occasion when the 
class was indulging in excessive as well as uncalled-for 
applause, he simply raised his right hand and with re- 
peated deprecatory gesture exclaimed, his countenance 
radiant erewhile with an amused smile, " Gentlemen, 
gentlemen I I am afraid we are doing ourselves injustice ! " 
Instruction in French was imparted by Alphonse 
Renaud, a Red Republican national assemblyman, who 
had to leave France when Louis Napoleon accomplished 
his coup d'etat. Upon his advent to the university, in- 
stead of announcing his first lesson at chapel prayers, he 
awaited our attendance on the first recitation hour. After 
instructing us as to the manner in which he desired us to 
prepare for the classroom, he continued, " Young men, I 
presume you are all gentlemen, but such has not always 
proved to be the case, therefore I must give you some 
rules of conduct." Among them was one that was lis- 
tened to with profound attention : " You must not cut 
the rounds out of the backs of the settees ! " As was to 
be expected, in less than a month one settee, the third 
from the front, had no rounds in its back save the stout 
end posts and perhaps two midway. Of course, it was 
occupied meanwhile by as many earnest students as 
could sit thereon without serious discomfort. Other 



210 



Me. 



'moms 



ofB 



rown 



rounds were missing in different parts of the room, but 
here it was that time wrought its most serious havoc. 
Occasionally a loud crash beside the blackboards indi- 
cated that another round had given out, but as the in- 
structor always looked in the direction of the noise and 




Barnas Sears, 1825 
President of the University, 1855-1867 



not toward the students, the ultimate cause of these ac- 
cidents was never ascertained. 

The modern language recitation room was on the 
ground floor, rear projection. University Hall. When 
the windows were opened in warm weather to secure per- 



Memories of Brown 2 1 1 

feet ventilation, the north window-seat on the east side 
was always occupied by two or three zealous students. 
When the exercises became prosaic, one would gently 
slip over the sill and depart to his room, the better to be 
prepared for the next recitation. His place would be 
filled as promptly as circumstances permitted by some 
other equally studious chap. I never knew that the es- 
cape of more than one was definitely fixed upon the ad- 
venturer, though the instructor would be perplexed oc- 
casionally at his failure to find some one he had marked 
present. 

It chanced that some of our number had previously 
studied the French language. To make manifest their 
superior attainments, they were wont to respond at roll 
call " ici." Others less learned but quick-witted caught 
on to the idea, and presently there were all manner of re- 
plies, even to " easy ! " 

Alas for poor Renaud ! His vivacity cost him at last 
every position and he sought refuge in the Third Rhode 
Island Cavalry, where he served as a sergeant in Troop 
G from February 2, 1864, until November 29, 1865. Soon 
after his muster-out, despite former emphatic protesta- 
tions of disbelief in the sincerity of Napoleon III, he ac- 
cepted the provisions of that monarch's last amnesty 
proclamation and returned to his native land, whence 
ere long he went the way of all the earth. 

One morning in the fall of 1862, as I wended my way 
across the front campus from my home, a mile and a 
quarter away, to morning prayers, then held on the sec- 
ond floor of Manning Hall, my attention was attracted to 
the singular appearance of Hope College. Had it not 
been that many of its own windows as well as all of the 
glass in neighboring buildings remained intact, I should 
have supposed a terrific battle had been waged in the im- 
mediate vicinity. The mystery I could not unravel nor 



212 



Memories of Brown 



was it comprehensible until it was explained by one of 
my classmates, in substance as follows : 

Prompted by the instinctive sentiment of paternity 
that develops in most sophomores toward all freshmen, 
one of the former who rejoiced in the soubriquet of 
Neoptolemus and occupied the southeast room on the 




Professor George Ide Chace, 1830 
(Taken about 1864) 



ground floor of Hope College enticed one of the latter 
into his den and, as was alleged, there maltreated him. 
Naturally the ire of his fellows was aroused, and one mid- 
night, as the valiant soph was sleeping the sleep of the 
just, he was rudely awakened by a loud crash, and swash 
went pail after pail of cold water over the prostrate, scan- 



Memories of Brown 2 1 3 

tily clad form of the innocent (?) victim. Of course, ap- 
peals for mercy were wasted words, and not until the as- 
sailants were wearied by their exertions did they cease 
from their labor. But such rebellious conduct on the 
part of freshmen was entirely unprecedented. The of- 
fence could not be overlooked. That class must be made 
an example of that would horrify forever after all such 
presumptuous folk. A plan of campaign was at once 
formulated, the nature of which can best be inferred by 
subsequent events. 

On a certain later day anonymous warnings were re- 
ceived by the freshmen that their rooms would be visited 
that night. Pitman, who occupied the south front room, 
ground floor, middle entry, Hope College, was particu- 
larly favored in this respect. However, as everything 
seemed quiet at 11.15 R. M., the fighting juniors, if not 
the fighting freshmen, domiciled in Pawtucket, retired to 
their homes. But the college roomers were still uneasy, 
for never had such definite premonitions of trouble been 
known to fail. Accordingly, about midnight, a recon- 
noitring party, which included E. C. Chick and C. E. 
Willard of the junior class, sallied forth in search of in- 
formation. It was found ! Turning a corner from Brown 
street, the scouts butted into the sophomore army. 
Chick was at once knocked down, but Willard protected 
him until he had regained his feet, when a precipitate, 
though orderly, retreat was effected to headquarters. Pit- 
man's room. There preparations to receive invaders 
were at once completed. Meanwhile, the hostiles, find- 
ing themselves discovered, moved promptly but silently 
forward to the attack, ranged themselves in front of the 
ill-fated room, and at a given signal hurled a shower of 
stones at the windows that carried away sash, blinds, 
shades and curtains, thus affording convenient breaches for 
assault. As no missile had been returned, the achievement 



214 



Memories of Brown 



seemed simple enough. A valiant soph stepped upon 
the narrow granite underpinning, throwing his arms over 
the window-sill, and bent forward to enter. His head 
had scarcely reached the anterior plane of the room when 
whack! descended a gymnastic club, wielded by the mus- 
cular Ned Chick, upon that devoted pate, and its owner, 




Manning Hall, 1864 

with a heavy groan, dropped to the ground. A bolder 
youth essayed the second breach. He encountered a 
similar reception at the hands of the tall but wiry Charlie 
Willard, and in addition, just below the right eye, a stove- 
cover hurled with unerring aim, by the aforesaid Chick, 



Memories of Brown 215 

who afterwards affirmed that he did not then know that 
the cover was hot, but a little later found his fingers blis- 
tered. It is almost needless to state that the second 
adventurer dropped also, if anything a little quicker than 
the first. The besiegers were now convinced that the 
scaling of the wall was impracticable, so a flank movement 
was resorted to. The entry door was forced open, and 
after a desperate fight the few but gallant defenders were 
driven up the stairway. There, as at the ancient Roman 
bridge, three could hold ten thousand at bay, so the in- 
vading host halted without orders. It avenged its practi- 
cal defeat, however, by sending out skirmishers, who rid- 
dled with stones the windows of every freshman residing 
in Hope College. The next term bill contained this 
item : " Private damage, 75 cents." This enraged not a 
few students who knew nothing of the circus until after 
the performance closed, among them myself. Chancing 
to be in the Chick brothers' room some days later, the 
subject came up for discussion when, knowing they would 
take care of their own bill, I turned to another of my 
classmates and remarked, " Kenyon, I give you full and 
free permission to use up my seventy-five cents worth of 
private damage." " Fact is," drawled Kenyon in reply, 
" I haven't used my own up." 

Apparatus utilized in the physics room in exemplifying 
the principles of hydraulics was placed on a tin waiter 
that water escaping through faulty connections or ill-fit- 
ting valves might be restrained from mischievous perigri- 
nations. When the experiments were concluded one day, 
the professor placed it on the fioor, leaning against the 
glass instrument case behind him. The very next day 
the student next on my left chanced to bring in a pocket- 
ful of shot which he commenced to snap at random 
around the room. Disliking to see things wasted I bent 
over and whispered, " If you must fire, why don't you fire 



216 Memories of Brown 

to some purpose ? Don't you see that waiter ? " The 
hint was all-sufficient. His aim was at once directed 
toward the resonant metal. The interest of the entire 
class was excited. Each student commenced searching 
for a stray shot that had previously fallen in his vicinage. 
A right merry bombardment was vigorously prosecuted, 
for the sloping floor, elevated platform and long but sim- 
ple table that served as the instructor's desk made the 
field of operations plain to all. Suddenly a modern cent 
was hurled against the target with such force that its re- 
bound cleared the platform and it fell at the feet of the 
front row of students. Deathlike silence supervened 
upon its terrific ring. The professor adjusted his glasses, 
looked carefully over the room, and then remarked, 
" Tyler, you may stay after recitation." " Yes, sir," re- 
plied the suspect. I know naught of the matter, save 
that the cent was picked up, was passed along back and 
apparently stopped at Tyler's chair. 

On one occasion Dr. Caswell placed a mathematical 
demonstration on the blackboard for the edification of the 
class. He was about writing the final result when he 
paused for an instant to run over the work lest perchance 
he had committed some error in figuring. Naturally he 
flexed his right hand backward. Just as he had com- 
pleted the revision and the wrist was bent forward, a huge 
spitball struck the board at the exact point toward which 
the crayon was aimed, and spread out over a space two 
inches in diameter. The professor's hand dropped to his 
side, he turned and gazed at the class for a few moments, 
resumed his chair and gave us quite a pointed address 
upon our gentlemanliness or the lack of it. 

One speech of Dr. Caswell's will never be forgotten by 
the class of '64. For terseness and appositeness it cannot 
be excelled. It was repeated as often as occasion de- 
manded, and that was frequently. When we indulged in 



J 



Memories of Brown 217 

unmeet applause, he always remarked with a most be- 
nignant smile, " Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a 
straw." For a time this was the signal for renewed ap- 
plause, always graciously received, but later by common 
consent the observation was received with soberness and 
stillness. It was noted that the smile became sickly look- 
ing and ere long the iteration ceased. 

Early in our senior year an event occurred somewhat 
startling, well-nigh tragic. Our depleted ranks had been 
strengthened by a number of recruits from a college out- 
side New England. Among these was one Martin Luth- 
er Laws, a hot-headed Southerner. Initiation day had 
come, i. e., the day on which youths eager for forensic 
fame enrolled themselves in the Philermenian or United 
Brothers society. Though at this time the former seldom 
held meetings and the latter never, the rivalry in the se- 
curement of members was even more intense than in the 
days of their greatest prosperity, for now quantity, not 
quality, was the desideratum. The Phils occupied the 
practically double room on the north side of the north 
entry, Hope College, fourth floor ; the Brothers the cor- 
responding apartment on the south side. Their doors 
were opposite and in close juxtaposition to the west hall 
window. Now the upper stairway and entry were filled 
on these occasions with upperclassmen and if it was 
known that a given neophyte was pledged to either or- 
ganization he and his friends had no slight task on their 
hands to land him at the appropriate destination. It 
chanced this day that Laws met a freshman hanging 
around outside the building with downcast countenance 
and dubious expression, so he asked what the matter was. 
He was told the youngster wanted to join the Philer- 
menians, but was afraid to go up lest he be hustled into 
the Brothers' room. "Come with me and I'll see you 
through," said Laws, and the twain started on their trip. 



Memories of Brown 



Mr. Greatheart for once, however, had reckoned without 
his host. When they had reached the crowd, Ned Chick, 
a Brother and the fighting man par excellence, was stand- 
ing in its midst and ere Laws could definitely ascertain his 
own whereabouts, his protege was seen standing near the 
centre of the south room firmly held by the said Chick. 
This so enraged Laws that he drew his revolver and dis- 
charged it, but his hand was knocked up on the instant and 
the bullet merely grazed Fales's olfactory protuberance and 
buried itself harmlessly in the ceiling. Deathlike still- 
ness supervened, during which Laws took his friend's 
right arm and marched him over to the interior of the 
north room, where he was duly enrolled among the peo- 
ple of his choice. Laws's seat in the recitation rooms was 
vacant, however, for a number of days. He first reap- 
peared at the morning history hour. As he entered the 
room. Professor Gammell left his throne, walked over half 
the distance to the door, grasped him cordially by the 
hand and welcomed him back to the classroom. It was 
alleged that he was the only member of the faculty that 
approved Laws's action and that his powerful influence 
alone prevented expulsion. 

The truth of that ancient adage, " Never too old to 
learn," was renewedly and conspicuously exemplified by 
an experience of that eminent educator. Professor S. S. 
Greene, but a short time before his retirement. In his 
algebra class was a pupil whom he styled the best mathe- 
matician he had ever met in the classroom. The man 
may be called Smith, chiefly because his name was not 
Smith, but also because he was in divers ways connected 
with that numerous and eminently respectable family. 
Now, the professor had been in the habit of telling his 
students they must be prepared to perform any example 
under the caption to be considered next day, but sudden- 
ly he awoke to the fact that most of the class were totally 



Memories of Brown 219 

unacquainted with them. Thoroughly provoked, he 
ordered each student to hand in next morning as he en- 
tered the recitation room a solution of every problem in 
the next lesson. These covered more than two pages oc- 
tavo. Smith raised his hand — " Yes, you too, Smith," 
broke in the professor, " no one will be excused," and the 
student's hand dropped. Most of the class were dis- 
mayed : it was absolutely impossible for them to solve the 
examples and devote any attention to their other studies. 
On emerging from the recitation room they instinctively 
grouped to consider the situation, when one of the most 
stalwart threw his arms around their mathematician and 
exclaimed, " We've got Smith now, we won't let him go 
until he has got us out of this scrape." Another student 
tendered the use of his room and thither all repaired. 
Smith ordered the boys to count off by threes. He ex- 
plained the first example to the division of ones and di- 
rected them to commence figuring ; then he went over 
the second with the twos and the third with the threes. 
By this time the ones were ready to report. If their 
answers agreed he considered them correct — if there was 
much divergence he went through the work himself and 
thus detected the several errors. Quite promptly the list 
of questions was completed. Arrangements were made 
for the exchange of papers for transcribing when the 
question was asked, " What is to be done with Smith.? " 
Finally it was agreed that one man from each division 
would hand him a copy of the problems he had wrought, 
which arrangement was duly carried out. Next morning, 
each student on entering the recitation room handed the 
professor a neatly written sheet containing the desired 
solutions, until Smith appeared, when he coolly passed 
over tWree pieces of paper in as many distinct chirogra- 
phics, neither being his own. The professor paused, sep- 
arated them, closely scanned them and then looking up at 



220 



Memories of Brown 



Smith asked, " Have you performed all these examples ? " 
" Yes, sir," promptly replied Smith. The professor again 
looked at the papers, when Smith continued, " The man 
that builds the house is not the man that drives the 
nails ! " After a moment's pause the papers were laid on 
the desk with the others and Smith passed on. Never 
again was that class directed to perform an example out- 
side the recitation room. Those three papers, of course, 
had afforded the key to the situation. 

George B. Peck, 1864. 




The Old and the New 



Memories of Brown 



IT 



More About the Faculty in the 
Sixties 



WHEN I was a student at Brown University, 
in 1860-64, two degrees were given, — the 
degree of A. B. at the end of four years, 
and the degree of B. P. at the end of three 
years. In those days the Greek and Latin classics enjoyed 
a prestige in academic circles which they have since par- 
tially lost, and the A. B. course, which included them, 
stood higher than the alternative course in general esti- 
mation, not only because of its greater length but also be- 
cause of its more approved requirements. The elective 
principle, though not then so dominatory in the shaping 
of college courses as it has since become, was recognized 
to a limited extent in the later years of the college course, 
for I distinctly^ remember that I had the option of substi- 
tuting for Greek, which had been required in the case of 
candidates for the A. B. degree in the freshman and soph- 
omore years, a laboratory course in chemistry in the junior 
year. I had at the time a lurking suspicion that laboratory 
work in chemistry might have a closer relation to modern 
life than Greek, but scholastic traditions were strong, 
laboratory work was unfamiliar and therefore uninviting, 
and I chose the Greek in the confident persuasion that it 
was both a more approved and promising instrument of 
culture, and in the profession of teaching, to which I pur- 
posed to devote myself, a subject rated at a higher market 
value. 



222 



M. 



em ones o 



o/B. 



rown 



In the early 60s, the requirements for the degree of 
A. B. included prescribed work in all the great domains 
of knowledge. Thus we studied not only the Greek and 
Latin classics, two modern languages, English literature, 
rhetoric, logic, and intellectual and moral philosophy, but 




Professor William Gammell, 1831 
(Taken about 1864) 



we studied the physical sciences also. In this way we left 
no department of human investigation untouched. I say 
untouched rather than unexplored, advisedly, for the 
sciences, at least in the A. B. course, were taught mainly 
for purposes of information rather than of training. Thus 
we studied general chemistry, geology, physiology, physics, 
astronomy, etc., but we had no laboratory work in any of 
these sciences. Indeed, except in the mathematical parts 



Memories of Brown 223 

of mechanics and astronomy, our sole dependence was on 
the notes that we took of lectures and on such ob- 
servation as we could give from our seats in the lecture 
room to illustrative experiments performed by the profes- 
sor. Moreover, the overworked professor taught, not one 
subject, but a group of subjects and as a rule he had no 
assistant of higher grade than the janitor. 

The professors who instructed us were mature men, not 
boys ; and for the most part, so far at least as we were 
competent to judge, they were masters of their subjects. 
Those under whom I studied were Greene in mathemat- 
ics; Lincoln in Latin; Harkness in Greek and Latin; 
Chace in chemistry, physiology and geology; Dunn in 
literature, rhetoric and logic; Caswell in physics, solid 
geometry and astronomy ; Gammell in history; and Sears 
in intellectual and moral philosophy, history and German. 

Professor Harkness, who since my college days has 
become through his editorial work the teacher of scores 
of thousands of American youth, and has done more per- 
haps than any other American scholar to make classical 
studies attractive as well as disciplinary to those whom 
he has thus indirectly taught, has passed away full of years 
and honors. What changes of method professional ex- 
perience and independent thought may have led him to 
adopt in his later teaching, I do not know ; but in my 
day he led his students somewhat slowly, perhaps, but 
patiently and surely, by the systematic iteration involved 
in a daily " advance," " immediate review " and " back re- 
view," to the gradual mastery of the thought and the 
grammatical structure of the classical texts which he in- 
terpreted. One of the best proofs I can give that his in- 
struction was profitable to me is the fact that, after I had 
studied Cicero's essay on Friendship under him, I volun- 
tarily, and for pure enjoyment, spent the leisure hours of 
several weeks in making, for permanent preservation, the 



224 Memories of Brown 



best translation of this essay that such skill in Latin and 
English as I was master of enabled me to make. 

Professor Lincoln was, with perhaps a single exception, 
the most stimulating and inspiring teacher I ever had. 
He carried us through Livy, Horace, Juvenal and the rest 




Professor John Peirce, 1856 
(Taken about 1864) 

at a rattling pace and with steady increase of appreciation 
and enjoyment on our part We worked for him as for 
no other professor, and we worked willingly. Not a mo- 
ment of the recitation period went to waste. He did very 
little reviewing, but gave us constantly the inspiration of 
working with fresh material. He not only led us to an 
understanding and appreciation of Latin literature, but 
he trained us in Latin composition also. I remember as 
among the pleasantest experiences of my college life the 



Memories of Brown 2 1 7 

unmeet applause, he always remarked with a most be- 
nignant smile, " Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a 
straw." For a time this was the signal for renewed ap- 
plause, always graciously received, but later by common 
consent the observation was received with soberness and 
stillness. It was noted that the smile became sickly look- 
ing and ere long the iteration ceased. 

Early in our senior year an event occurred somewhat 
startling, well-nigh tragic. Our depleted ranks had been 
strengthened by a number of recruits from a college out- 
side New England. Among these was one Martin Luth- 
er Laws, a hot-headed Southerner. Liitiation day had 
come, i. e., the day on which youths eager for forensic 
fame enrolled themselves in the Philermenian or United 
Brothers society. Though at this time the former seldom 
held meetings and the latter never, the rivalry in the se- 
curement of members was even more intense than in the 
days of their greatest prosperity, for now quantity, not 
quality, was the desideratum. The Phils occupied the 
practically double room on the north side of the north 
entry, Hope College, fourth floor ; the Brothers the cor- 
responding apartment on the south side. Their doors 
were opposite and in close juxtaposition to the west hall 
window. Now the upper stairway and entry were filled 
on these occasions with upperclassmen and if it was 
known that a given neophyte was pledged to either or- 
ganization he and his friends had no slight task on their 
hands to land him at the appropriate destination. It 
chanced this day that Laws met a freshman hanging 
around outside the building with downcast countenance 
and dubious expression, so he asked what the matter was. 
He was told the youngster wanted to join the Philer- 
menians, but was afraid to go up lest he be hustled into 
the Brothers' room. " Come with me and I'll see you 
through," said Laws, and the twain started on their trip. 



218 Memories of Brown 

Mr. Greatheart for once, however, had reckoned without 
his host. When they had reached the crowd, Ned Chick, 
a Brother and the fighting mdiW par excellence, was stand- 
ing in its midst and ere Laws could definitely ascertain his 
own whereabouts, his protege was seen standing near the 
centre of the south room firmly held by the said Chick. 
This so enraged Laws that he drew his revolver and dis- 
charged it, but his hand was knocked up on the instant and 
the bullet merely grazed Fales's olfactory protuberance and 
buried itself harmlessly in the ceiling. Deathlike still- 
ness supervened, during which Laws took his friend's 
right arm and marched him over to the interior of the 
north room, where he was duly enrolled among the peo- 
ple of his choice. Laws's seat in the recitation rooms was 
vacant, however, for a number of days. He first reap- 
peared at the morning history hour. As he entered the 
room, Professor Gammell left his throne, walked over half 
the distance to the door, grasped him cordially by the 
hand and welcomed him back to the classroom. It was 
alleged that he was the only member of the faculty that 
approved Laws's action and that his powerful influence 
alone prevented expulsion. 

The truth of that ancient adage, " Never too old to 
learn," was renewedly and conspicuously exemplified by 
an experience of that eminent educator. Professor S. S, 
Greene, but a short time before his retirement. In his 
algebra class was a pupil whom he styled the best mathe- 
matician he had ever met in the classroom. The man 
may be called Smith, chiefly because his name was not 
Smith, but also because he was in divers ways connected 
with that numerous and eminently respectable family. 
Now, the professor had been in the habit of telling his 
students they must be prepared to perform any example 
under the caption to be considered next day, but sudden- 
ly he awoke to the fact that most of the class were totally 



Memories of Brown 219 

unacquainted with them. Thoroughly provoked, he 
ordered each student to hand in next morning as he en- 
tered the recitation room a solution of every problem in 
the next lesson. These covered more than two pages oc- 
tavo. Smith raised his hand — " Yes, you too, Smith," 
broke in the professor, " no one will be excused," and the 
student's hand dropped. Most of the class were dis- 
mayed : it was absolutely impossible for them to solve the 
examples and devote any attention to their other studies. 
On emerging from the recitation room they instinctively 
grouped to consider the situation, when one of the most 
stalwart threw his arms around their mathematician and 
exclaimed, " We've got Smith now, we won't let him go 
until he has got us out of this scrape." Another student 
tendered the use of his room and thither all repaired. 
Smith ordered the boys to count off by threes. He ex- 
plained the first example to the division of ones and di- 
rected them to commence figuring ; then he went over 
the second with the twos and the third with the threes. 
By this time the ones were ready to report. If their 
answers agreed he considered them correct — if there was 
much divergence he went through the work himself and 
thus detected the several errors. Quite promptly the list 
of questions was completed. Arrangements were made 
for the exchange of papers for transcribing when the 
question was asked, " What is to be done with Smith ? " 
Finally it was agreed that one man from each division 
would hand him a copy of the problems he had wrought, 
which arrangement was duly carried out. Next morning, 
each student on entering the recitation room handed the 
professor a neatly written sheet containing the desired 
solutions, until Smith appeared, when he coolly passed 
over three pieces of paper in as many distinct chirogra- 
phics, neither being his own. The professor paused, sep- 
arated them, closely scanned them and then looking up at 



220 



M 



emories o 



ofB. 



rown 



Smith asked, " Have you performed all these examples ? " 
" Yes, sir," promptly replied Smith. The professor again 
looked at the papers, when Smith continued, " The man 
that builds the house is not the man that drives the 
nails ! " After a moment's pause the papers were laid on 
the desk with the others and Smith passed on. Never 
again was that class directed to perform an example out- 
side the recitation room. Those three papers, of course, 
had afforded the key to the situation. 

George B. Peck, 1864. 




The Old and the New 



Memories of Brown 22 1 

More About the Faculty in the 
Sixties 



WHEN I was a student at Brown University, 
in 1860-64, two degrees were given, — the 
degree of A. B. at the end of four years, 
and the degree of B. P. at the end of three 
years. In those days the Greek and Latin classics enjoyed 
a prestige in academic circles which they have since par- 
tially lost, and the A. B. course, which included them, 
stood higher than the alternative course in general esti- 
mation, not only because of its greater length but also be- 
cause of its more approved requirements. The elective 
principle, though not then so dominatory in the shaping 
of college courses as it has since become, was recognized 
to a limited extent in the later years of the college course, 
for I distinctly remember that I had the option of substi- 
tuting for Greek, which had been required in the case of 
candidates for the A. B. degree in the freshman and soph- 
omore years, a laboratory course in chemistry in the junior 
year. I had at the time a lurking suspicion that laboratory 
work in chemistry might have a closer relation to modern 
life than Greek, but scholastic traditions were strong, 
laboratory work was unfamiliar and therefore uninviting, 
and I chose the Greek in the confident persuasion that it 
was both a more approved and promising instrument of 
culture, and in the profession of teaching, to which I pur- 
posed to devote myself, a subject rated at a higher market 
value. 



222 



Memories of Brown 



In the early 60s, the requirements for the degree of 
A. B. included prescribed work in all the great domains 
of knowledge. Thus we studied not only the Greek and 
Latin classics, two modern languages, English literature, 
rhetoric, logic, and intellectual and moral philosophy, but 




Professor William Gammell, 1831 
(Taken about 1864) 



we studied the physical sciences also. In. this way we left 
no department of human investigation untouched. I say 
untouched rather than unexplored, advisedly, for the 
sciences, at least in the A. B. course, were taught mainly 
for purposes of information rather than of training. Thus 
we studied general chemistry, geology, physiology, physics, 
astronomy, etc., but we had no laboratory work in any of 
these sciences. Indeed, except in the mathematical parts 



Memories of Brown 223 

of mechanics and astronomy, our sole dependence was on 
the notes that we took of lectures and on such ob- 
servation as we could give from our seats in the lecture 
room to illustrative experiments performed by the profes- 
sor. Moreover, the overworked professor taught, not one 
subject, but a group of subjects and as a rule he had no 
assistant of higher grade than the janitor. 

The professors who instructed us were mature men, not 
boys ; and for the most part, so far at least as we were 
competent to judge, they were masters of their subjects. 
Those under whom I studied were Greene in mathemat- 
ics; Lincoln in Latin; Harkness in Greek and Latin; 
Chace in chemistry, physiology and geology; Dunn in 
literature, rhetoric and logic; Caswell in physics, solid 
geometry and astronomy ; Gammell in history; and Sears 
in intellectual and moral philosophy, history and German. 

Professor Harkness, who since my college days has 
become through his editorial work the teacher of scores 
of thousands of American youth, and has done more per- 
haps than any other American scholar to make classical 
studies attractive as well as disciplinary to those whom 
he has thus indirectly taught, has passed away full of years 
and honors. What changes of method professional ex- 
perience and independent thought may have led him to 
adopt in his later teaching, I do not know ; but in my 
day he led his students somewhat slowly, perhaps, but 
patiently and surely, by the systematic iteration involved 
in a daily " advance," " immediate review " and " back re- 
view," to the gradual mastery of the thought and the 
grammatical structure of the classical texts which he in- 
terpreted. One of the best proofs I can give that his in- 
struction was profitable to me is the fact that, after I had 
studied Cicero's essay on Friendship under him, I volun- 
tarily, and for pure enjoyment, spent the leisure hours of 
several weeks in making, for permanent preservation, the 



224 



Memories of Brown 



best translation of this essay that such skill in Latin and 
English as I was master of enabled me to make. 

Professor Lincoln was, with perhaps a single exception, 
the most stimulating and inspiring teacher I ever had. 
He carried us through Livy, Horace, Juvenal and the rest 




Professor John Peirce, 1856 
(Taken about 1864) 

at a rattling pace and with steady increase of appreciation 
and enjoyment on our part. We worked for him as for 
no other professor, and we worked willingly. Not a mo- 
ment of the recitation period went to waste. He did very 
little reviewing, but gave us constantly the inspiration of 
working with fresh material. He not only led us to an 
understanding and appreciation of Latin literature, but 
he trained us in Latin composition also. I remember as 
among the pleasantest experiences of my college life the 



Memories of Brown 225 

rewarding sense of satisfaction with which I occasionally 
read " optime scriptum " written in his hand at the end of 
a piece of Latin that I had striven hard to bring to the 
level of his high standard of excellence. One day there 
was to be a baseball match between the Harvard and 
Brown nines which we students wished to attend, but 
which was to take place at the hour fixed for our Latin 
recitation. Accordingly we addressed to him a petition 
in Latin asking him to transfer to another hour the lesson 
which caused the conflict. He granted our request in the 
following letter, which I still preserve among my treasured 
possessions : 

Domino Johanni Tetlow et A His. 

Discipuli et commilitones carissimi: Vestras 
litteras recepi quibus, ut ludo sophomorico adsitis, reci- 
tationem Latinam die Mercurii hora post preces academi- 
cas prima habitam velitis. Cui vestrae voluntati libenter 
obsequerer, si ilia hora vacuus essem. Quoniam eo 
tempore apud meam scholam semper occupatus sum, vos 
crastino die nona hora (vel Anglice) tertia post meridiem 
hora, conveniam. 

Valete, 

J. L. Lincoln. 
Scribebam ix. Kal. Jul. MDCCCLXHL 

The personality of Professor Caswell made a very 
strong impression on me. As a teacher of science and as 
a performer of scientific experiments, indeed, he was not 
to be compared with Chace. Critical experiments often 
failed, and the principle they illustrated had to be taken 
for granted. I recall one occasion on which, in order to 
give ocular demonstration of the rotation of the earth on 
its axis. Professor Caswell had suspended a cannonball 
by a wire from a hook in the ceiling, that it might swing 



226 



Memories of Brown 



as a pendulum from the point of support, and had drawn 
a chalk line on the floor to mark the line of oscillation 
which the cannonball would take when set swinging at 
the beginning of the recitation hour. At the close of the 
recitation hour, the plane of oscillation having remained 




Theodore M. Hob:gand 

Instructor in French 1863-72 

(Taken about 1869) , 

constant, the deflection of the line of oscillation would 
give ocular evidence of the intervening rotation of the 
earth. At the beginning of the experiment, the cannon- 
ball was held fast by a string at one extremity of the arc 
of vibration, and Professor Caswell, in order to prevent all 
possibility of jar, proceeded to burn the string instead of 
cutting it. We were all watching with eagerness and ex- 
pectancy, when suddenly the wire by which the ball was 



Memories of Brown 227 

suspended broke, and the ball rolled ignominiously over 
the floor with a clatter and bang almost as loud and dis- 
concerting as the applause of the students which followed. 

Professor Caswell had a smile which expressed pure 

benignity. One day, , a classmate of mine, failed on a 

scholium in geometry, and, by way of explanation of his 
failure, said that he had read the scholium carefully but 
did not — here he paused and looked up apologetically. 
" Did not see the force of it ? " suggested Caswell. " No, 

sir," said ■. Caswell leaned over his table and, with 

the most genial smile of encouragement, said, "Then 
we'll take it in its weakness." Even the fellow who 
passed the hats from hand to hand during the recitation 
hour, and piled them up in a corner for the owners to rush 
after at the close of the lesson, could not help loving the 
dear old man. 

There were somewhat more than two hundred students 
in the college in the early sixties, and yet Professor Dunn 
carried all the work of the English department. How he 
did it, and kept alive, I can hardly understand. Of course 
we had no daily themes, and, except during the prepara- 
tion of essays for the " junior exhibition " and the " com- 
mencement exercises," we had no personal conferences 
with the professor for suggestion and criticism. But we 
took down from dictation lectures on the " many qualifi- 
cations which conspire to make a good writer," studied 
Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric and Thomson's Laws 
of Thought, and wrote essays and original speeches at 
frequent intervals and received them back with unmis- 
takable evidence that they had been attentively read by a 
competent critic. I find that to this day, in giving formal 
written expression to my thought, I frame and reconstruct 
with constant and almost automatic reference to the in- 
structions I received in my college days from Professor 
Dunn. 



228 



Mi 



em ones 



o/B 



rown 



So far as I can now recall, I did not study history in 
college until I reached senior year. Then Professor 
Gammell assigned us eight pages a day in Guizot's His- 
tory of Civilization, or an equivalent amount in Hallam's 
Constitutional History, and supplemented our memoriter 





Professor Charles W. Parsons, 1848 honorary 
(Taken about 1869) 

recitation of what we had learned with comments on the 
subject matter. Those were illuminative historical works, 
and to understand and store in the memory their contents 
was a valuable mental exercise; but, before the end of 
the year, we came under the instruction of a different 
teacher, who trained us in a more fruitful method of study. 
This was Dr. Sears, the president of the college. We had 
some trouble with Professor Gammell, the details and 
the merits of which I have long since forgotten ; but the 



Memories of Brown 229 

result was that we were instructed in history during the 
remainder of the year by the president. Immediately we 
had topics assigned us, and were sent to the library for 
investigation, with instructions to report on our several 
topics at subsequent class exercises. The contrast between 
the two methods was marked and significant, and the ef- 
fect of the change most salutary. 

Besides teaching us history during this final year of our 
course. Dr. Sears taught us also intellectual and moral 
philosophy. I will not venture to pronounce on the 
quality of his instruction in these subjects. I carried 
away from it the impression that Dr. Sears was a very 
high-minded and a very learned man ; but the subjects 
themselves did not appeal to me. I probably was not 
ready for them. 

Dr. Sears also taught us German during the first half 
of that final year in college. In those days — and we 
have not yet wholly abandoned the unnatural order of 
procedure — we began the difhcult ancient languages in 
the preparatory school, and the relatively easy modern 
languages in college. We had studied Latin three years, 
and Greek two, before entering college ; but we did not 
begin French until the sophomore year, or German until 
the senior year of the college course. Dr. Sears carried 
us safe over the German forms and constructions, and at 
the earliest moment possible set us to reading the German 
classics. I can remember reading Schiller's Wilhelm Tell 
very much as at that time I read the Greek and Latin 
classics, — picking out the words that belonged together 
by inspecting their terminations, without knowing there 
were any fixed principles of arrangement. This and 
other experiences have convinced me that the progressive 
and painstaking work on forms and syntax that ensures 
accuracy in a modern foreign language is more appro- 
priate to the school than to the college. It was in history, 



230 



Memories of Brown 



rather than in philosophy or in German, that I felt most 
indebted to Dr. Sears as an instructor; but even as an 
instructor in history his influence was insignificant when 
compared with the influence he exerted through his noble 
character and gracious personality. No student who at- 




Rev. William Douglas, 1839 
Registrar 1864-79 
(Taken about 1869) 



tended Brown University during the presidency of -Dr. 
Sears could fail to love and revere him ; and no graduate 
of the college who was so fortunate as to have spent the 
final year of the college course under his personal instruc- 
tion could fail to carry through life the impress of his high 
ideals of character and scholarship. 

Jokn Tetlow, 1864. 






OLD BROv-.^s t;->:atre, 



tKo.'JU^iUj r-jaovacLii _ 



H Ij^ 1. 1 > 



!>)it 'if l>r Srvus hHvmg h< 



T T . . ' \ ^~; 



V .'> '> ^' 



, f 8 6' 5 , 

Irin in private froiu 






232 Memories of Brown 

The Beginnings of Baseball 
at Brown 



THE introduction of baseball into (shall I say) the 
curriculum of Brown University was one of the 
glorious deeds of the class of 1865. College ath- 
letics were formerly confined to the annual scrim- 
mage on the campus — the football game between the 
sophomores and the freshmen. The sophomores were 
almost always successful, but the class of 1865 as fresh- 
men won a notable victory. It was the last class football 
game on the campus. When the class of 1865 became 
sophomores and were about to challenge the incoming 
class, the president gave a fatherly talk to us. He said 
that the faculty was determined to suppress the brutal 
game. He exhorted us voluntarily to break up the custom. 
We could do it with honor, for we had won our laurels in 
the game of 1861, and no one could doubt our powers. 
But, he continued, if we insisted upon perpetuating the 
custom, we would be prevented from engaging any further 
in the game. We therefore very reluctantly gave up our 
plans. 

But baseball was beginning to assume a scientific char- 
acter and was becoming a favorite pastime. We very 
gladly practised it and soon became proficient. At length 
our club challenged one of the city clubs (I think it was 
called the Providence Baseball Club), and a match game 
was played on the Dexter Training Ground, with a re- 
markable score. Thus encouraged, our club challenged 



Memories of Brown 233 

the best club in town, the Dexters, and won a great victory, 
and henceforth was recognized as the champion. 

We used to have an eccentric professor of French. He 
was an exile, a member of the French National Assembly 
of 1848, a friend and compatriot of Victor Hugo. Com- 
ing to this country, he earned his livelihood by teaching 
the French language and literature. He was very excit- 
able and nervous. It was said that his regular breakfast 
was a glass of beer and the Providence Journal. He es- 
pecially hated Napoleon HI, and used indignantly to de- 
mand of us, when we, more frequently than was really 
necessary, referred to that mighty potentate, " Who was 
Napoleon H .? " Many a lesson in French we got through 
with ease by precipitating a discussion on French politics 
or public affairs, when the professor, regardless of the ap- 
pointed tasks, occupied all the time in excited argurnent 
or invective. 

The French recitation room was on the first floor of 
University Hall, on the east side. It so happened that 
some one of the baseball club took his position on the 
broad seat of the open window, instead of the iron chair, 
which was his regular place, and when the Frenchman's 
attention was fully engaged, the athlete swung around, put- 
ting his legs out through the window, and let himself 
down to the ground and then hastened off to practice 
with the club on the campus. Then another and another 
followed in the same manner. " Frenchie " now and then 
seemed to notice that there was something unusual going 
on, but, as far as we knew, never really discovered what 
it was. Perhaps he did, though, for he was so much in- 
terested in our baseball reputation that he presented our 
club with a beautiful silk flag. 

Of course we knew that as soon as we were the cham- 
pions of the state our days of glory were numbered. Very 
soon a challenge was received from the Harvard club, 



234 



Memories of Brown 



which we well knew would be invincible in any struggle 
with us. But we promptly accepted it and determined to 
make the event as distinguished as possible. 

The game was played on the Dexter Training Ground. 
A large attendance of friends, and especially of young 
ladies, lent honor and beauty to the scene. Seats were 
provided for the invited guests. The Harvard boys were 
met at the depot and escorted to the field in barouches. 
The American Band discoursed fine music between the 
innings, and a banquet closed the festivities of the day. 
The Harvards won, as was expected, but these courtesies, 
although they became quite frequent in after years, were 
unknown in Providence before. 

Succeeding classes continued the interest in baseball, 
and soon Brown took a foremost place in intercollegiate 
sports and won many trophies, but the class of 1865 has 
always taken great satisfaction in the fact that it inaugu- 
rated baseball athletics at Brown University. 

Warren R. Perce, 186^. 




The Newer Brown 



Memories of Brown 235 



The Hollow Square 



ONE morning in chapel there was passed along 
through the class a paper containing a diagram, 
assigning each of the fellows to a position in the 
usual procession to the recitation room. At 
prayers, at that time, the president always conducted the 
religious service, and the professors occupied chairs on 
the platform at the right and left. They made indeed a 
formidable array of the faculty of Brown University. At 
the conclusion of the exercises, one professor after another 
went out, followed by his class, the seniors, of course, lead- 
ing the other classes, and so on, in regular order. Thus 
the several detachments, headed by the professors, repaired 
to the recitation rooms. 

That morning the class of 1865 was to recite first in 
mathematics, and Professor Caswell, familiarly called 
" Cax," was the professor in charge. On leaving the 
chapel, every man at once assumed the position indicated 
by the diagram, and proceeded in the following order 
from Manning Hall to Rhode Island Hall. First came 
a short column of twos, then a large hollow square formed 
around the professor, and then a short column of twos. 
At the head of the procession was Judson in command. 
All the fellows, as they marched, kept time by short, jerky 
pronouncementof the usual military formula, " left, — left, — 
left, right, left." We all advanced with great solemnity, 
the tall form of our venerable professor in the midst. He 
showed no surprise or embarassment. 



236 



Mi 



emortes o 



of Bro 



wn 



On reaching Rhode Island Hall, the body-guard sepa- 
rated to allow our distinguished teacher to pass out. The 
class obeyed the sharp command of the leader, " Close 
ranks, front face, right dress, eyes front." 

Professor Caswell mounted the steps of the building, 




Alexis Caswell, 1822 
President of the University, 1868-72 

removed his hat, looked gravely up and down the line as 
if inspecting it, and gave the command, " Forward, into 
your barracks, march ! " 
And we did. 

Warren R. Perce, 1865. 



Memories of Brown 237 



The Tale of the Bonnet 



THE early summer of 1863 was a time of great 
anxiety in the Northern States. The Confederate 
army was pressing its way into Pennsylvania and 
a draft to recruit the Union ranks was impending. 
A rebel privateer, the Tacoiiey, appeared late in June off 
the New England coast, and on Sunday morning, June 
28, 1863, the alarming news was spread throughout the 
city that this terrible vessel was steaming up the bay to 
Providence, without any opposition whatever. No de- 
fence of any kind was possible. The west passage of 
Narragansett Bay, a wide, straight waterway, the best en- 
trance of all, the one most commonly traversed by ocean 
steamships and large sailing vessels, was absolutely un- 
protected. There was nothing to prevent this much- 
dreaded warship from steaming straight into Providence 
harbor and doing its work of destruction. 

The rumor of the rapid approach of the Taconey 
reached Providence while the church bells were ringing 
for Sabbath morning worship, and it produced wide-spread 
consternation and even terror. The governor, James Y. 
Smith, immediately ordered the Marine Corps of Artil- 
lery to proceed down the bay to throw up fortifications 
for the protection of the city. It was, of course, very soon 
ascertained that the rumor was unfounded, yet the sense 
of the helplessness of the city and of the towns and vil- 
lages along the shores of the bay was intensified, and the 
battery went to the high bluff on the west side of the west 
passage, called the " Bonnet," and began the construction 
of small earthworks. 



238 Memories of Brown 

The next morning, Monday, it was announced that the 
governor contemplated sending a company of infantry to 
support the battery. This report was eagerly spread 
through the college, and a suggestion was soon offered 
that it would be a grand idea if the governor would select 
our college company for this service. The company was 
called the " University Cadets." It was a large, strong, 
enthusiastic company of infantry, fairly well uniformed, 
finely drilled, and under the command of Captain John 
Tetlow. 

The suggestion was promptly adopted and great enthu- 
siasm prevailed, all the more because the term examina- 
tions were at hand and cramming had already begun. If 
we were ordered to perform this highly important and very 
valuable military duty, of course, no term examinations 
could possibly be demanded. Thus, true patriotism 
and our individual wishes all impelled us to cherish the 
hope that Co. I, R. I. Militia (that was our military desig- 
nation) would be ordered to support the artillery at the 
Bonnet. 

A committee, self-nominated, if not self-appointed, 
hastily interviewed the governor and returned with a very 
satisfactory report. Presently our order came, detailing 
Co. I, R. I. M., to take the field and to fortify the Bonnet. 
The college boys were highly elated and the enthusiasm 
was tremendous. Dtdce et decorum est pro patria, etc. 
That was good ancient and good modern common sense. 
The faculty, however, thought differently and did not 
share at all in these high and ennobling sentiments. 
" But, gentlemen," expostulated one of them, " remember 
the examinations. You must not go. The examinations ! 
The examinations ! " To this came the calm reply, '" It 
is our duty. We are commanded by the governor to per- 
form this service. The city, the state, are in peril. We 
have no choice in this matter." 



Memories of Brown 239 

And so we went. We left our mothers and our sisters 
and our sweethearts, and the dear, dear members of the 
faculty. Why heed the parting tears and the futile appeal 
to remain ? These only made the experience the more 
real and exciting. It made our self-sacrifice interesting 
and exquisitely delightful. 

We joyfully donned the ill-fitting uniforms furnished by 
the state, and sailed away on the large tugboat appropri- 
ately named the American Union, and late in the after- 
noon reached South Ferry, where we disembarked. On 
the voyage down the west passage our little boat was 
passed by a large steamship, a United States transport, 
bringing home to Providence the nth Rhode Island 
Regiment, whose term of service had expired. These 
many hundreds of returning soldiers lustily cheered us, 
the noble few, men in blue, their companions in arms, who 
were beginning our military service. 

On arriving at the ferry, we proceeded in heavy march- 
ing order along the road and over the rough fields to the 
crest of the bluff. There the belching cannon roared a 
welcome, the old flag flapped with conscious pride as we 
approached, and a company of uniformed militia from the 
neighboring towns (which had hastily assembled the pre- 
vious Sunday to hold the fort — after it was made — until 
the arrival of regularly detailed troops) was drawn up and 
received us with due military honors. 

The tents were pitched in a single row parallel to the 
several rows of tents occupied by the artillerymen. The 
men of the larger fraternities messed together. The bat- 
tery occupied hastily formed earthworks on the very 
edge of the cliff. Day after day, squads of men worked 
with picks and spades in throwing up a fortification, and 
the cannon were placed in position. Some artillery 
practice was engaged in. Rarely could a cannonball be 
fired across the passage. Occasionally one could be seen 



240 Memories of Brown 

striking into the soil of the Conanicut shore, but, for the 
most part, the shot fell into the water. Several times 
shots were fired across the bows of the New York propel- 
lers passing out to sea, for the reason, as it was stated, 
that they did not salute the flag. These vessels were 
well-known and were used mostly for freight, though 
carrying a very few passengers. Such as were so forcibly 
assailed swung round, slowed up, tooted a salute, dis- 
played the national flag and were allowed to sail out to 
sea. Just why these peaceful and well-known vessels 
should be fired at, especially when they were headed sea- 
ward, is one of the unsettled questions of history. Be- 
sides this diversion, the sunrise gun and the sunset gun 
saluted the flag as it was hoisted and lowered daily with- 
in the little fort. Thus it was seen that the American 
flag was properly honored and cared for during those 
trying days. 

Our men, when not serving on the digging squads, did 
guard duty, being divided into proper reliefs, and these 
were on guard for a day and a night in regular rotation, 
and all off duty the succeeding day. We paced back and 
forth for hours, very frequently in the dense sea-fogs, peer- 
ing out into the darkness or mists and loudly shouting for 
the corporal of the guard whenever occasion required, or 
anything suspicious was seen toward or on the sea. On the 
next day after guard duty much time was spent in scour- 
ing the rifle barrels, which had become rusty by exposure 
to the salt air and fog. 

On July 2 it was announced that a certain number of 
our company would be allowed to go to the city on the 
third and to return on the fifth. There were so many 
applications for the furlough, that lots were drawn in the 
different messes to determine who should go. The for- 
tunate ones piled into an army wagon and thumped and 
bumped and clung on in every way over a nine-mile jour- 



Memories of Brown 241 

ney in the successful effort to reach the depot in time for 
the train, notwithstanding the departure from camp had 
been dangerously delayed. 

Every day the tug which brought us to camp plied back 
and forth between Providence and South Ferry carrying 
supplies, but principally, if the statement of a newspaper 
correspondent in the neighboring village was correct, 
barrels of water, which, he said, were carried past one of 
the finest springs of water in the town. The water was 
brought in whiskey barrels, and, being long exposed to 
the heat of the sun, was thoroughly impregnated with an 
unpalatable and unfamiliar flavor. 

The food in camp was sufficient in quantity, but of 
poor quality and no variety. Many eked out their sup- 
plies by suppers at a neighboring farmhouse. One of 
our men, who had seen better days, complained grievous- 
ly about the regular camp rations. He said that he could 
not eat bread without butter, nor drink coffee without 
cream, and on disentangling a long hair (crinis humana) 
from the meat, on one occasion, did not care for any more 
food just then. Such stories of privation are scarcely be- 
lievable, but rny duty as a chronicler of this important 
epoch in history requires me to make the simple statement 
and let those believe it who can. 

Foraging parties were soon common, although all food 
procured was fully paid for at prices fixed by the venders 
thereof. One party, led by Judson, foraged as far away 
as Wakefield. Stopping at a cottage where there was an 
unfavorable response to his appeal, he inquired of the 
lady of the house what was the name of the village. She 
replied, " Wakefield." "Indeed," said he, "perhaps you 
can direct us to an old friend of ours, the Vicar of Wake- 
field." " I don't know as I can," was the reply. " There 
is a new family who moved into the house yonder a few 



242 Memories of Brown 

days ago. I don't know their name. Perhaps they are 
the folks you are looking for." 

Our days were for the most part spent in frequent drills 
and in various camp duties, but sometimes at night there 
were unexpected and exciting experiences. How the 
sutler's tent and supplies went down over the edge of the 
rocky cliff is not clearly explained in the annals of his- 
tory, and opinions and theories differ. It was probably 
due to the force of gravitation, assisted somewhat by 
moving forces of human origin. But the last night we 
were in camp there was (almost) a very dreadful attack. 

As the danger passed which had brought together 
these military forces to the hitherto peaceful and flower- 
bedecked Bonnet, and the excitement had consequently 
subsided, many members of the artillery company re- 
turned home and filled their places with substitutes, who 
were for the most part foreigners. These were disposed 
to be troublesome and offensive. The officer in com- 
mand thought it best not to allow these substitutes the 
use of side-arms or guns when on guard duty, but they 
were armed with cord-wood sticks for clubs, which 
doubtless at close range would be really effective weapons 
in their hands. I suppose there was powder and shot 
enough somewhere in camp. Certainly there was enough 
to warm up the cannon occasionally, but I do not remem- 
ber that a single rifle cartridge was seen there by the in- 
fantrymen. In any encounter with Confederate troops 
we should have been obliged to drive them off with 
sabres, bayonets, gunstocks and clubs, or, if they should 
choose to sneak up the bay in their dreadful ship in order 
to avoid such a conflict with us, the men who happened 
to know how to load and fire a cannon would have blazed 
away at them and hit them, if possible. On so slender a 
defence did the great city of Providence, once upon a 
time, depend ! 



Memories of Brown 243 

Well, to go on with the terrible history of that last 
night in camp. There had been trouble brewing for sev- 
eral days. The artillerymen were much offended be- 
cause the college boys were served with rations before 
they were, and they believed that the collegians had the 
most and the best- The rations were poor enough, but 
there was no favoritism shown, as far as we were aware. 
This bad feeling reached a climax at supper time the last 
day. Threats had been freely made and some missiles 
were thrown by the artillerymen at the infantrymen. 
Company I, R. I. M., slept on their arms all night and 
the guards did careful work. Neither of the prospective 
combatants had any ammunition, it is true, but the imagi- 
nation reels at the battle scene it conjures up, and the 
conflict between two mighty and determined forces, one 
armed with cord-wood sticks and the other with empty 
rifles and sabre bayonets, is too dreadful to contemplate, 
and fortunately did not take place. 

As soon as it was known that our term of service was 
about to end (we were in service fourteen days) those 
awful examinations, for which we were now wholly un- 
prepared, loomed up portentously. Our classmates who 
had not enlisted were safely past that ordeal and had de- 
parted to their homes to enjoy the summer vacation. 
They had earned good marks for their examination work 
wherewith to brace up the general average. We could 
not help envying them. 

We met and deliberated, and, in solemn convention as- 
sembled, we " resolved " that in consideration of our loyal 
service to the state in its time of great peril we ought to 
be excused from the term examinations. These resolu- 
tions were communicated to the faculty, I presume, and 
what did those dear professors do .? Why, they just 
made us take those examinations at the beginning of the 
next term ! 



244 Memories of Brown 

We used often in the last days of our campaign, when 
the first ardor of patriotism had shghtly abated and the 
state of our country's finances became a more interesting 
subject, to discuss the question, Who would pay us for 
our military services, and especially how much ? We let 
X equal the unknown quantity, but nothing in mathemat- 
ics, higher or lower, enabled us to solve the problem. 
Some argued that as we were state troops, we ought to 
receive state pay, which we understood was a goodly sum, 
comparatively speaking. Others thought that we would 
receive only the compensation allowed to United States 
soldiers. The former argument was decidedly the more 
reasonable and convincing'. However, when, some days 
later, we went out to raid the treasury, we were paid for 
all these services hereinbefore faithfully chronicled, each 
private receiving the sum of $5.63. 

This explains a song of the period, which was some- 
times heard upon the campus : 

We all went down to West Passage 

For five and sixty-three, 
We all went down to West Passage 

For five and sixty-three. 

We won't pass examinations, 

Oh, no ! not we, not we. 
We all went down to West Passage 

For five and sixty-three. 

The tune of this thrilling song was the one long previ- 
ously dedicated to the history of the famous journey to 
the Seekonk. 

So what promised to be a fine American eagle turned 
out to be only a big lark. 

Warren R. Perce, 1865. 



1 



Memories of Brown 245 



The Water Procession 




"N the Academic year 1867-68 the only water 
supply for the dormitories in Hope College 
came from the old well in the rear of the 
building-, which was then covered by the 
orthodox well-house with its "old oaken 
ini bucket " and rope. During that year, which 

HI is recalled as a period of unusual lawlessness 

uL^ among the students, the said bucket's period- 

'VfL. ical disappearances caused great inconven- 

ience to those rooming in the old college. A 
new bucket and rope being missing a few 
days after their installation, the registrar de- 
clined to replace them, taking the stand that 
it was the duty of those who were responsible for their 
removal to return them, though investigation had failed, 
as usual, to implicate any of the undergraduates. As the 
days passed without relief, the murmurs of discontent 
grew into indignant protests both loud and deep, but the 
bucket and rope still remained conspicuous by their ab- 
sence. One day a printed handbill appeared on the trees 
and fences of the vicinity, reading as follows : " To whom 
it may concern. If the bucket and rope are not replaced 
in the well by three o'clock P. M. on (date forgotten) the 
' water procession ' will form on the rear campus at that 
time." Much discussion and inquiry failed to throw any 
further light on the matter, but as the appointed time 
drew near and still no bucket, there was a feeling that the 
affair was to reach a climax in some way. 



246 Memories of Brown 

When the hour arrived no one was to be seen on the 
campus, but within five minutes nearly all the students 
had assembled, each carrying some water-holding utensil, 
and great was the variety: Cups, mugs, basins, bowls, 
pitchers, bottles, pails, tubs, jars, and other vessels not 
usually so prominently displayed, were all in evidence. 
The American Brass Band appeared and, striking up a 
popular tune, led the line of march down College street. 
In the lead were eight men, each carrying a bucket in one 
hand and a coil of rope in the other, and behind them 
four (of whom the writer was one) carrying on their heads 
a large round, old-fashioned, tin bath-tub. A halt was 
made at the ancient pump which then ornamented the 
centre of College street, and all the vessels were filled, the 
procession then taking its way down the hill, up West- 
minster street, and down Weybosset, the citizens stopping 
to smile and wonder what it was all about, for student 
parades were not then so common an occurrence as they 
have since become. Returning through Market square 
and North Main and Waterman streets, the head of the 
line had reached the old stable on Benefit street, between 
Waterman and College, when Professor Chace (then act- 
ing president of the university) came along, and like 
others halted on the curbstone to see what event was be- 
ing celebrated. The writer (who marched by within a 
few feet of him) well remembers the sudden change which 
came over his austere countenance, from a smile of casual 
interest to a gasp of amazement, terminating in a severe 
frown, as he turned and strode as rapidly as his dignity 
allowed around the corner and up College Hill. A few 
minutes later he had taken a position on the steps of the 
library and the procession, having burst open the old 
wooden gates and singing, " You'll never miss the water 
till the well runs dry " came to a halt in front of him. As 
the working of his features showed that he was struggling 





Memories of Brown 247 

with varying emotions, the band was ordered to stop play- 
ing and a cry of " Hats off " (which was at once obeyed) 
was followed by a short interval of silence. The writer 
regrets his inability to recall with accuracy the remarks 
which our honored president ad interim then made to 
his insubordinate pupils, but his memory is clear that they 
were not spoken " more in sorrow then in anger " but 
distinctly vice versa. 

He closed with an imperative command to disperse to 
our rooms and await the dire punishment of all concerned, 
which, after giving three cheers for " Prexy " and smash- 
ing all our earthenware on the stone steps of the library 
and leaving the place looking like a crockery store just 
after being visited by a cyclone, we concluded to obey, 
though echoes of the cry, " Bucket, bucket, who's got the 
bucket ? " continued to be heard around the campus for 
some time afterwards. 

The investigation which followed the next day resulted 
in the suspension of several of the participants and also 
the suspension (by the authorities) of a brand new bucket 
in the well by a brand new rope, the former suspension 
happily being temporary, and the latter equally happily 
being permanent. Such was the famous "water pro- 
cession," which will be recalled as a pleasant memory by 
many gray-haired men who read these lines. 

Robert B. Metcalf, 1870. 



248 Memories of Brown 



In the Days of Seventy 



THE class of 1870 was always a remarkable class. 
It was, even in its freshman year, a very old- 
looking class. More than half a dozen men wore 
full beards, and " side-tabs " and moustaches were 
everywhere in evidence. We had some dozen veterans of 
the Civil War in our ranks, many of whom had been com- 
missioned ofBcers. Several limped from wounds, and one 
(E. Benjamin A.) had lost an eye. We had a proper 
sense of our own importance, and, strangely enough, the 
college as a whole seemed to take us collectively at our 
own valuation. Possibly the fact that we had more sol- 
diers than any other class may have had something to do 
with determining our status. Then, too, we were always 
first in athletics. Class spirit ran high and we gloried in 
our strength. Alas that this "class spirit" which we 
valued so highly, and which welded together the men of 
" Seventy " as few classes were ever joined before, is now 
impossible in this confusing age of " electives." 

We knew our instructors better than students know 
their teachers today. Twelve men made up our teaching 
body. Seven were professors, including the president, 
who was also the instructor in German. They were Sears, 
Chace, Lincoln, Dunn, Greene, Harkness and Diman. 
Clarke, Appleton and Hobigand were instructors. There 
was an " assistant to the professor of chemistry/' and also 
an " assistant instructor in analytical chemistry." A libra- 
rian and a " register," who was a kind of connecting link be- 
tween " Archibald " and Mr. Guild, as far as his functions 



Memories of Brown 249 



went, completed the university outfit. Compare it with the 
fifty-three professors and the two additional pages of in- 
structors and other offtcers in our last catalogue and realize 
how the university has grown in forty years. There were 
six buildings: University, Hope, Manning, Rhode Island, 
the chemical laboratory, and the president's house, and. 




President E. Benjamin Andrews, 1870 
(Class picture) 

with the, let us hope, possible exception of the president's 
house, there was not a bath-room in the lot. It was before 
the days of city water. Our water supply came from two 
wells, one of which was confessedly contaminated by a 
neighboring cesspool. The other, behind Hope College, 
on the back campus, was furnished with a wooden curb 



250 



Memories of Brown 



and a bucket. This curb used not infrequently to fur- 
nish an example of " spontaneous combustion " and was 
wont to go up, or rather down, in smoke. Hope Col- 
lege was the dormitory, but the rooms upon its lowest 
floor had been made habitable only with the entrance of 
our class. There were no closets in it. (There were 
none in any of the old New England college buildings in 
those days.) Not until the summer of 1866 were any 




Hope College, 1870 



" sinks " (so-called) placed in the halls, not rooms, of Hope. 
Until that year the students were accustomed to empty 
their wash-basins from the windows of their rooms, as did 
those of the University of Paris in mediaeval days. And 
so the early morning experience of Louis IX of France, 
Saint Louis, was not unusual to the sinners of Providence. 
Under such conditions it is not remarkable that typhoid 
fever claimed many victims. We lost a man a year for 
three years, and the mortality in other classes was like 



Memories of Brown 



251 



ours. There has been a mighty change in the sanitary 
arrangements of the university in forty years. 

The middle campus was our playground. The " home 
base " was on a line drawn from the rear door of Manning 
to the laboratory, and once or twice in my baseball ex- 
perience the ball was knocked thence into George street. 
We were always sure of a " crowd of witnesses around " 




The Champion Nine of 1870 

E. F. Fales, C. H. Bowker, H.T.Taylor, F.B.Grant, 
J. B. F. Herr"eshoff, W. H. Munro, C.Hitchcock, 

R. S. CoLWELL, A. H. Matteson. 

when we practised. One exploit, " quorum pars magna 
fui," occasioned tumultuous applause. With one "foul 
strike " eight panes of glass were broken. Never did a 
hit meet with more general commendation. The one dis- 
cordant note in the chorus of approval came from the 
first baseman. He roomed in the broken paned apart- 
ment ! ( Do you remember it.? O Fresh ie Fales!) Of 



252 



Memories of Brown 



course the stroke was a chance one. Many of our greatest 
successes are. 

Secret societies were even more powerful then than 




First Baptist Meetinghouse, 1870 



now. Lines were sharply drawn between the fraternity 
men and the " Oudens " (a man who did not belong to 
any society was an dodh). The first number of the Liber 
Brunensis was published in the senior year of the class of 



Memories of Brown 



253 



'70. The Brown Paper, a four or eight page sheet, had 
been the fraternity organ up to that time. The Delta U 
society that same year published a book of their own, the 
" Caduceus." 

The great scholastic event of the academic year was the 
junior exhibition. It came about Easter time. Eight 
or ten juniors were selected because of scholarship or ora- 
torical ability to "pronounce orations" from. the stage of 
Manning Hall. Many maidens, attired in Easter hats 




University Hall, 1870 



and things, were wont to attend. Two programmes were 
usually published for these exhibitions. The official one, 
distributed by the ushers in the hall, was always severely 
formal. There was not much that was formal about the 
" mock programme ; " sometimes it was witty and worth 
preserving. At other times it was vile. The undergrad- 
uates valued "junior ex" much more than commence- 
ment. " Class day " had not developed to the great func- 
tion it now is. 



254 Memories of Brown 

Only a few of the rooms enjoyed the blessing of gas. 
We of Hope were of the elect. We formed an associa- 
tion which was embalmed in the Liber. The mystic let- 
ters H. C. G. L. A. may there be seen surrounding a skull 
and crossbones, the letters standing for Hope College Gas 
Light Association. Singularly enough, the one really 
important office in the association, that of treasurer, always 
went to a freshman. This may have been because the 
treasurer was responsible to the gas company for the bills. 




Back Campus, 
Looking East, 1870 

and was supposed to collect them, pro rata, from his fel- 
lows. If these did not pay, then, like the Roman Curial 
of old, the treasurer was forced to make up the deficiency — 
and thereby hangs a tale. 

We had an excellent lot of treasurers while I was an 
occupant of 23 Hope, but the years following my gradua- 
tion saw a change. The freshman one year was not suf- 
ficiently alive to the dignity of his office to use his own 
money for satisfying the moderate demands of the gas 
company, so the meter was removed from the hall of the 



Mi 



em ones o 



ofB. 



rown 



255 



North Division and the supply of gas cut off. Some 
months afterward the official who had taken out the meter, 
happening to pass by Hope at night, saw that the edifice 
was even more brilliantly illuminated than in the olden 
days. He was moved to make mention of the phenome- 
non at the office of the company the next morning. In- 
vestigation disclosed the fact that it had occurred to some 
not abnormally bright student that a rubber tube applied 




Middle Campus, 1870 



to the pipe which had been used for conveying gas to the 
meter, and then attached, as to its other end, to the pipe 
across the hall which conveyed gdisfroin the meter, might 
serve all purposes of illumination quite as well (if not bet- 
ter) than if the gas were sent through the meter in the 
orthodox way. The next night saw Hope once more 
shrouded in darkness. 

Wilfred H. Munro, i8yo. 



256 Memories of Brown 



The Old College Well 



THOSE who were fortunate enough to graduate 
from Brown in the early seventies, or before, 
were famihar with the two wells on the middle 
campus. A bar sinister was on the escutcheon 
of one, so all the tide of life surged around the one back 
of Hope College. Hither came one and all to drink and 
to secure pailfuls for all domestic purposes ; here they 
lingered to get or give such gossip as might be floating 
in the air. Here were discussed free will and predestina- 
tion, the personality of the devil and the abomination of 
the new doctrine of evolution. The old well was a free-to- 
all platform and no one could be put out as a dissenter. 
The old well-curb told no tales, no serfs nor slaves of 
Pluto could force it to divulge the conspiracies hatched 
beneath its shadowy protection. Its serenity was only 
disturbed when the water in the bucket rippled into a 
smile to hear some high-collared sophomore tell of the 
tortures preparing for his victims ; or some vainglorious 
freshman narrate his heroic defence and escape from the 
torturers. All paths led to the old well ; here met the con- 
tending classes after fiery contest and fought again to see 
which should drink first, dragging out the long rope at- 
tached to the bucket in a tug of war with many incidental 
fights. The teamster abandoned his team in the dusty 
street and the gamin ceased from the tune he was whis- 
tling outside the fence to drink with rapture of the old 
well's sparkling mead. 

Heroic deeds made the spot famous, as when an in- 



Memories of Brown 



257 



trepid freshman scrambled down the shppery stones into 
the dark and dangerous depths and brought up the foot- 
ball which the sophs had taken from his class and thrown 
therein. But the most thankful to the old well were the 
roysterers who in the still, small hours rose up out of the 
depths of the town and begged libations poured over 




South Well, 1873, Old John in the Foreground 
" A bar sinister was on the escutcheon of one " 



their heated brains to remove the memories of the 
schooners they had floated and the Tom and Jerries they 
had downed. Sometimes the old well got absent-minded 
and lost its bucket ; nobody knew whether it went up 
or down, and a new one without any moss on it had to be 
supplied. On one occasion the authorities failed to pro- 
duce a new one and the students' protest at such treat- 
ment of their old friend was the famous water procession, 



258 Memories of Brown 

which invaded the town with utensils of grotesque and 
nameless variety in search of water, which they found and 
brought back in formal triumph. It is strongly suspected 
that the old well-curb carried matches in its pocket, for 
semi-occasionally it would drowse off and wake up about 
midnight all in flames. Then the cry of " Fire ! " startled 
the calmness of night, the fire engines were dragged up 
the steep hills and pandemonium ruled in collegedom. 

This happened several times, but the trick was played 
once too often. One bitterly cold night, when all were 
deep in extra comforters, came the passing of the old well 
with its many buckets and its much sweet water. It had 
drowsed off again and deep in the night awoke in flames. 
The firemen came and while the poor innocent students 
were asleep, demons poured from their windows icy water 
from tubs and buckets out on the fire fighters below. 
The water froze on the firemen's clothing, but the words 
came hot from their mouths, and they threatened with 
many an oath upon the next like occasion to take in their 
hose and wash the whole building out, but there was no 
further opportunity, for the edict went forth that the curb 
should rest in its ashes and the water be seen no more. 
The grief at parting with the old well was sincere. A 
cold, gray stone was placed over it, from which protruded 
a spook of a pump, a cold-clanging, cumbersome thing of 
iron, offensive to the eye and ear as well as to the taste, 
and shunned by all the intimates and confidantes of the 
dear old well. 

Robert P. Brown, iSyi. 



Memories of Brown 259 

The Barker Hoax 

and a Visit from two Great Generals 



IN 1867, Dunn, the graceful and accomplished pro- 
fessor of English, died, to the great loss and regret 
of the classes who looked forward to his courses 
with expectations of profit and pleasure. The ad- 
vent of a young instructor from Harvard into the circle 
of professors who were almost exclusively Brown gradu- 
ates and of mature years did not strike the undergradu- 
ates with any particular favor, and " Tute " Barker's 
English recitation-room became the scene of hilarious 
and noisy demonstrations. He was a modest, retiring 
young man, spending all his spare time in his room, 
which was in the centre division of Hope College. As 
he was timid and unmarried, it was thought best to indi- 
cate to him some of the Uvely incidents which daily hap- 
pen to the man who braves the sweet troubles of house- 
keeping. The first day of April came on Saturday and 
brought life and excitement into " Tute " Barker's hermit 
cell. They started the arrivals early. Roasts of lamb, 
fine cuts of steak, vegetables in great variety, bread and 
cake, a new hat, haberdashery, books, a tailor to take 
measures for a new suit, shoes, and various other things 
handy for the good man of the house, but appalling to 
the book-worm. Each arrival brought a receipted bill 
and refused to be put off as he produced an order, signed 
by the victim, to land the goods at his room number at 
such a time, and to bring the bill with him. All day long 
they came with their valuable articles, only to be rebuffed 



260 Memories of Brown 

and pained, and after quarrels and heart-burns to go back 
with nothing but loss and chagrin and a profound and 
bitter feeling towards literary " cusses." The culmina- 
tion came in the late afternoon when the Clayville stage- 
coach, that ancient structure which toiled up through the 
rugged hills of Northern Rhode Island, swept in from 
Waterman street with its four stave-fed horses, stopped 
before the centre of Hope, and demanded a passenger for 
that wild, barbaric region of charcoal-burners and hard 
cider to which no traveller willingly returns. It was too 
late, however; the victim had fled. The sight of this ark 
with leather springs suggested kidnapping, and before the 
rough-visaged driver could descend from his high box, 
the prospective passenger was seen vanishing in the dim 
and hazy perspective. 

In the spring of '68 we had a part holiday, as General 
Sheridan visited Brown with General Burnside as guide. 
We were lined up on the front campus in front of the 
buildings. General Sheridan passed along shaking hands 
in a jovial way with every man, and along after him came 
General Burnside repeating the operation. Now General 
Burnside had been elected an honorary member of one of 
the leading fraternities at Brown. Mindful of his close 
relation to the general, an exuberant freshman reminded 
him of his duty to give the grip — that profoundly con- 
cealed sign — and the general meekly stopped and received 
prolonged instruction. After he had learned his lesson 
his face cleared up, and, beaming with delight at the fit- 
ness of his acquisition, he proceeded to give every man 
in the line the grip, with instruction if necessary. We 
escorted the generals down through the city, having the 
usual lively contests with the cabbies, as it was a rule 
never to allow a vehicle to cross through our line. 

Robert P. Brown, iSyi. 



Memories of Brown 261 



The Great American Traveller 



FOR many years previous to 1870 a unique figure 
was accustomed to visit the colleges of the East; 
his name was Daniel Pratt and he called himself 
the Great American Traveller. He was a sort of 
gentleman tramp with a cant somewhere in his brain. 
Dressed in a high hat of uncertain vintage and a frock 
coat of an earlier age, he appeared somewhat like a pro- 
fessor of moderate means. He was eloquent of his travels 
and experiences at the different universities and was al- 
ways received by the students with acclaim and more or 
less revelry and riot and, consequently, was regarded as 
an undesirable citizen by the college authorities. The 
last time he visited Brown was an event long remembered 
by the writer. He arrived in the late afternoon, and ar- 
rangements were quickly in progress for the address of 
such a famous character. The sash was taken out of the 
east window in middle division, second story, Hope, and, 
when all windows and doors of the division had been 
firmly secured so as to prevent interruption, Daniel 
stepped up on the window seat and from this rostrum ad- 
dressed the crowd of students on the campus below. His 
eloquent harangue called forth boisterous applause and 
Soon " Billy Dug " appeared in the offing of Sprague, 
headed due north for Hope. Upon his arrival abreast 
the orator he wigwagged the gentleman to come down on 
deck. Daniel, regarding him as some crank in the crowd, 
paid no attention, but continued with a new storm of elo- 
quence. Then the irate registrar shouted, " Come down 
out of that," but Daniel looked down upon this marplot 



262 Memories of Brown 

with deserved contempt and continued unshaken. The 
Rev. William then tried the doors and windows without 
avail and hied away and we supposed all was well. As 
Daniel was in the midst of a flight of fancy or a fabrica- 
tion of facts, a hand from behind was inserted under his 
coat collar and he was yanked down with unseemly force. 
Rushing around in front, we found a window had been 
forced, entrance obtained and the door unbarred. In 
vain we tried to hold the door and prevent this outrage 
to the Great American Traveller, but he was ignomin- 
iously thrown out of the building. We escorted him to 
the Aldrich House, his hostelry, but nothing would per- 
suade him to return to the inhospitable jurisdiction of the 
reverend registrar. Upon arriving back the disappointed 
auditors decided that a visible expression of their feelings 
must go on record, so they assembled in the Sears Read- 
ing Room for an athletic event. Each man was to make 
an 8o-foot dash down the long entry and put his foot 
through Douglas's door at the end. One very fat fresh- 
man requested first place, as he could not run and wanted 
time to disappear into the night. The writer was next 
behind the slow-footed leader. We all shot the chute ; 
the door was smashed and splintered. " Fiat Justitia." 
The mob evaporated like the morning dew, but there was 
more due in the morning than we expected. The only 
two apprehended were the fat leader and the man next 
behind him. Why and how is a psychological problem 
never solved. The poor freshman closed up his record at 
Brown. Just because he couldn't run he was told to 
walk; the second sprinter was suspended from evening 
recitations and recreations for the balance of the year and 
at six o'clock punctually each night left the campus, re- 
enacting daily the exodus of Daniel Pratt, the Great 
American Traveller. 

Robert P. Brown, i8yi. 



Memories of Brown 263 



Two Bancroft Stones 



I 



SCENE: Professor Bancroft's recitation-room (class 
of 187 1 ). Request had often been made that ap- 
plause should not be boisterous, that there should 
be no noise of stamping of the feet. Something had 
aroused the class. Stamping was indulged in quite free- 
ly. The professor was irritated. He flashed out with 
this rebuke in the form of a question, " Gentlemen, if you 
don't call that a noise, I should like to know what you 
would call a noise ? " Every man, as though possessed by 
an individual demon, not only set his feet in motion, but at 
the same instant raised his heavy blankbook high in air 
and began pounding his iron desk with evident determi- 
nation to demonstrate to the professor what a real noise 
might be. Professor Bancroft saw the point, held up 
both hands, smiled audibly, and begged for peace. 

Richard B. Cojnstock, iSyS. 



II 



Another incident illustrates Professor Bancroft's good 
heart. Seventy-one was his starting class, and regarded 



264 Memories of Brown 

his close attention to dress and other individuaHties with 
the usual highly critical view of the undergraduate. His 
recitation-room was over the chemical laboratory, and as 
he grandly marched across, we, the unworthy members of 
'71, assembled back of Manning, kept time with him, 
shouting left, — left, — left, right, left. It was a long walk for 
him, and when he got us into the room he gave way to 
his excited passions, ragged the class and threatened ex- 
pulsion for all who should take part in a repetition of the 
insult. As they say of vaccination, this took, and the 
morrow saw us prepared for battle with all details for the 
attack carefully arranged. Promptly at ten-thirty " Tim- 
mie," right face, marched down the long path, his every 
step accompanied by loud shouts of left, — left, — left, right, 
left. From many of the windows of Hope and University 
large sonorous horns kept time with his steps ; apparently 
the whole college was in it. The effect was electric, as if 
every time he put his foot down he touched a button 
which produced a mighty roar. Prepared for a storm, we 
entered and settled away down in our chairs until the pro- 
fessor should break the ominous calm. He said, " Gentle- 
men ! " mark you, gentlemen ! " I was so unfortunate as 
to lose my temper yesterday and wish to make a com- 
plete apology for the manner and matter of my remarks 
to you. I see the joke, and hope for your future good 
wishes." We recognized his manly spirit, and pleasant 
relations always existed thereafter. 

Robert P. Brown, i8yi. 



M 



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2(i'=> 



The Glorious Class of 1871 




HEN our class was safely corralled 
within the gates of Brown, count- 
ing some fifty specimens of di- 
verse humanity who had come together 
through the mysterious ways of Provi- 
dence, the foundations of University Hall 
trembled, the Doric pillars of Manning's 
Temple gently oscillated and Hope blushed deep red 
with suppressed excitement, for they knew that now 
there would be " something doing." The other two build- 
ings, Rhode Island Hall and the chemical laboratory, 
were too far away to feel the shock. 

We confronted a sophomore class of self-acknowledged 
importance. They boasted that they were the biggest 
class that ever entered Brown and felt somewhat bigger 
than even their number warranted. Some of them were 
bearded like the pard, some were heroes of the Civil War, 
some of them were well-known ball players, whom we had 
repeatedly beaten when we were only high-school boys. 
An incident in their classroom will give a fair sample of 
their intellectual perception. When Professor Diman 
called up M — — , he asked him how the colonies were 
governed before the adoption of the constitution. This 
representative of the class of '70 varied his usual style of 
recitation by rising with great dignity and in deep, tri- 
umphant tone replying, " Why, by the 'preamble,' sir! " 
With such a class we felt the quality of mercy would not 
be strained and that our days would be big with fateful 



266 Memories of Brown 

deeds. We had not long to wait. A few days after en- 
trance, the whole college marched to the New York boat 
to give the retiring President Sears a send-off to his new 
field in the service of the Peabody Education Fund. 
Going down as escort we were at the head of the proces- 
sion, but coming back we brought up the rear. As we 
were about to enter the university grounds, these sopho- 
mores at a preconcerted signal suddenly turned and shut 
the great gates in our faces. We were surprised, but 
quickly the fighting spirit inherent in all members of our 
class awoke ; failing to scale the gates, we grasped them 
in our arms and Samson-like lifted them up and reduced 
them to kindling wood, and after many a rough and 
tumble fight gained the coveted position, to be received 
with cheers by the assembled juniors on the chapel steps. 
In our times, class feeling was very strong and the juniors 
were the traditional defenders of the freshmen. 

The long series of attempts to intimidate us culminated 
on the night of Professor Clarke's party. On account of 
our great love of mathematics, he rewarded our profi- 
ciency by the highest mark, 20, and a party at his home, 
to which the grace and beauty of the town were invited. 
Towards midnight, we marched back to college in a body. 
As we filed around back of Hope, the building appeared 
particularly dark and deserted. When the rear of the 
procession had rounded the corner, from the upper win- 
dows down came a shower of cannon crackers, exploding 
in the midst of us, followed by a deluge of water from 
tubs, pails, pitchers, etc. Completely wet and demoral- 
ized by these midnight phenomena, we sought refuge in 
the building, but the doors were held immovable by the 
great iron bars then in vogue and the windows were se- 
curely fastened down. Our knowledge of ancient warfare 
quickly came to our aid. From a house which was being 
built on Angell street we secured a huge beam and, man- 



Memories of Brown 267 

ned by all who could reach it, this huge, battering-ram 
quickly demolished the entrances of oak and iron. The 
man at the end of the ram was the only one who could 
realize the force of the blow when it failed to penetrate 
the door. 

Hazing was not yet considered atrocious, and a little 
tribulation was regarded as good for the freshman soul, 
so when we became sophomores we had a secret council 
of fourteen who met in a vacant loft at the lower part of 
South Water street. The members of this tribunal were 
solemnly pledged to this department of class work. 

There were no modern conveniences in the dormitories 
then ; the ordinary equipment of a room consisted of a 
pitcher and bowl, a wooden pail just outside the door and 
a tin cup hanging outside the window. Some students 
were so averse to a board-bill that they cooked all their 
meals in their room, thus absorbing all of the odors as 
well as the viands. The only hot water obtainable was 
at the registrar's kitchen, which gave the evil-minded an 
opportunity to watch his fine crop of grapes and to fix 
upon the proper time for the annual midnight raid. 

Some classes boast of what they had at Brown; we 
would proclaim our gratitude for a few things we didn't 
have. We had no president the first year and so became 
more closely acquainted with the widely cultured and 
amiable Chace, who was ^r^sidieni pro tempore 2in6. should 
have been (in the opinion of many) in perpetuum. The 
last three years we had as president the great-hearted 
Caswell, who raised his hand to bless all and harm none 
(yet was savagely attacked by his fellow-religionists on the 
charge that he was a wanderer from the strict Baptist fold 
and favored open communion). We had no assistant or 
associate professors, tutors, instructors, theme readers or 
other attenuations of the professorial dignity. All of our 
instructors were Simon-pure professors of full rank, ex- 



268 



Memories of Brown 




Middle Campus from Waterman Street, 1867 



Memories of Brown 269 

cept perhaps the Frenchman, Hobigand, who, though fail- 
ing the title, was worthy to hold the rank. 

It was our continuous and intimate association with 
the faculty of ten (including the president) broad-minded, 
highly-cultured gentlemen that made our college course 
seem ideal. The courses were few, but they were 
handled by masters. We were not surfeited with knowl- 
edge in a hundred courses, but were required to do a few 
things well, and the Pierian spring wandered sparkling 
and joyful through the vales of Academe. We had no 
written examination on our college courses ; all were oral 
from start to finish and we had to be able to get up and 
tell what we knew at short notice. We liked this method, 
and what a relief it was to the professors to be free from 
that anti-climax, examination papers ! 

There was little interference with our individual life 
and habits. The president went to bed at a regular and 
seemly hour and let the world wag as it would after that. 
Ofttimes he might have heard the flotsam of the rear 
guard climbing the hill singing, " Broad is the road that 
leads to death," but if he heard these early morning carols, 
he wisely said nothing, but turned over and dreamed that 
he was lightly treading the narrow heavenly road with 
here and there a traveller. Was vice more prevalent 
then than now.r* Who can tell? It was, at least, more 
open and unmolested, and perhaps some of the student 
ways would scarcely be tolerated at the present time. 
We can imagine a type of latter-day presidents who 
might feel uncomfortable to ascertain that a faro bank 
was run for two years under the eaves of one of the col- 
lege buildings and that the graduates of this course on 
the doctrine of probabilities became so proficient that 
they broke up a faro establishment in the city's " tender- 
loin." We also educated many men up to a high degree 
of proficiency in whist, plain poker or bluff, and Ken- 



270 Memories of Brown 

tucky loo. There was not much theatre going, as this 
use of time was not encouraged by the moral code of the 
university, so that it was more usual to enjoy the culture 
of select circles and to hold conversazioni at Peter 
Brucker's, Philip Brug's, Carl Young's International and 
Roger Williams's handy hostelry (where more than like- 
ly at some time in the evening you would come across 
some Tom and Jerry). 

The most graceful and enjoyed event of the year was 
junior exhibition, which took place in April. It was re- 
ligiously observed by all young and pretty maidens as the 
function where they should appear in their spring adorn- 
ments, and this gave an audience of bewildering charms 
and beauty adorned to its utmost. At this exhibition the 
best original speeches of the junior year work were de- 
livered by their authors, and it was a higher honor to 
speak at junior exhibition than was the perfunctory ap- 
pointment for commencement, which was strictly accord- 
ing to marks. The junior exhibition speaker, however, 
had no halo about his head, for while he was trying to 
prove the greatness of his soul or his proficiency in ora- 
tory very likely the audience was reading comments 
about him, full of sarcasm, ridicule, and abuse scurrilous 
even beyond the bounds of decency ; for the wicked soph- 
omores had been busy for weeks preparing mock pro- 
grammes. 

These mock programmes were usually printed out of 
town, say in Boston, were brought down by a messenger 
in a late train the night before and quickly and quietly 
divided among a select few, who saw to it that the audi- 
ence was supplied with the eagerly sought supplement to 
the regular programme, and thus had an inside and high- 
ly-tinted view of the character of the speakers and of 
many professors besides. As discovery meant expulsion, 
the greatest secrecy was observed. The sole object of 



Memories of Brown 271 

these sometimes witty, and often disgraceful, sheets was 
to give the opportunity to repay the juniors for all the 
abuse and indignities which the sophomores had suffered 
at their hands when they, the sophomores, were fresh- 
men. Junior exhibition was last given by the class of '78. 
Alas! that the class of '79, affected with some grouch 
or other, was allowed to lift its iconoclastic hands and 
tear from the calendar our " annual spring opening!" 

In our senior year, we had quite a little wave of Cathol- 
icism sweep over our class, as it would appear, from the 
teachings of Professor Diman, whose contempt for the 
cant and pride of sects was so great that he loved to bring 
out the historic claims of the Catholic Church to a con- 
P tinuity of authority all its own. One of our class became, 

and still is, a zealous Catholic priest, another joined the 
Paulist Fathers in New York and still another became 
the head of a highly ritualistic institution in the West. 
A well-known gentleman was asked by a man whom he 
met travelling who Professor Diman was. He replied, 
" Professor Diman is a Unitarian, who hires a pew in St. 
Stephen's Episcopal Church, preaches mostly in ortho- 
dox Congregational pulpits, is in warm sympathy with 
the faith of the liberal Jews and teaches Catholicism in a 
Baptist college." 

Robert P. Brown, iSyi. 



272 Memories of Brown 



Boating at Brown 



THE Seekonk river, situated a little less than two 
miles from the college, is about three miles in 
length, and for two miles is about a half-mile in 
width. The Blackstone pours in from the north, 
and the tide ebbs and flows upon the south. Its surface 
is usually smooth and unruffled, and it furnishes one of 
the finest courses for a boat race in New England. Many 
races have been rowed upon this course ; and some by 
the most noted oarsmen of the country. 

This course was seriously considered for the intercol- 
legiate regatta in 1870, and representatives of Harvard 
and Yale, with this object in view, visited the Seekonk in 
April of that year. 

The attention of Brown students was early attracted by 
such facilities for rowing, and soon after the sport was 
adopted by Harvard and Yale, and their first race rowed 
(in 1852), Brown began to contemplate the formation of 
a crew. 

The second race between Harvard and Yale was rowed 
in 1855, ^i^d this event added new impetus to the move- 
ments of Brown, who then determined to enter a crew at 
the next race between these colleges. With this object 
in view Brown's first crew was formed in 1857, and the 
calm waters of the Seekonk made to ripple with the oars 
of these jolly tars. 

The third intercollegiate race was rowed July 26, 1859, 
on Lake Quinsigamond, near Worcester. In this race 
Brown entered her first crew for aquatic honors. The 



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Brown crew was made up as follows: A. B. Judson, 
stroke, E. Judson, E. Sears, C. H. Perry, C. D. Cady and 
P. S. Jastram, bow. 

The crews drew position for the start as follows : Har- 
vard first, Yale second, Brown third. Brown rowed in a 




Old Boathouse 
(Taken in 1872) 



cumbersome lapstreak, called the Atalanta, which had been 
procured when the crew was formed in 1857 and used for 
practice in the meantime. Harvard and Yale rowed in 
shells whose weight was about 150 pounds less than that 
of the Atalanta, which was too heavy, and unfit for racing. 



274 Memories of Brown 

Harvard won the race; Yale came in second. Brown, 
not disheartened by the defeat, set at work with increased 
energy for the race of the next year. 

The race of i860 was rowed July 24, at the same place. 
The entries were Harvard, Yale, Brown. An account, 
speaking of the Brown crew, says, "they appeared on 
Lake Quinsigamond with the lightest, best trained crew, 
and the lightest boat. Friends and foes alike greeted 
them with prolonged cheers. All admired their splendid 
action, and the beauty of their craft." Brown in attempt- 
ing to obviate the mistake of the previous year, went to 
the other extreme, and procured for this race a shell which 
weighed only 112 pounds. This shell proved altogether 
too frail, and went to pieces in the race. Brown, never- 
theless, resolved to send a crew the next year, and com- 
menced preparations, but the breaking out of the Civil 
War, early in 1861, caused a suspension of boating in the 
colleges, which was not resumed until 1864. 

Interest in the sport at Brown was not revived until 
the spring of 1868, when her old boathouse, which then 
stood on the east shore of the Seekonk, was repaired, it 
having fallen into decay during the period of non-use. 
At this time two second-hand six-oar shells were obtained, 
and the Seekonk was again awakened by the boatman's 
merry laughter. 

Efforts were made to send a crew to the race in 1869, 
but without avail. The September gale of 1869 carried 
away the float at the old boathouSe, and a new house, 
early in the spring of 1870, was built on the west shore, a 
little above the present site of Red Bridge. 

The Brown Boating Association, in the fall of 1869, 
changed the previous method, of making up crews, and, 
for the first time, encouraged the formation of class crews, 
in hope that the interest awakened by class rivalry would 
develop material for a crew in 1870. Their motto was. 



Memories of Brown 



275 



" On to Worcester in 1870," but whether a freshman or a 
university crew should be sent had not been determined. 
The desire was to arouse a general interest in the sport 
among the students, and that could not be done, except 
in anticipation of sending a crew to the regatta to com- 
pete with Harvard and Yale, and hence the motto. 




University Boathouse, Erected 1871-72 



Arrangements were made by the college for the stu- 
dents, during the winter of 1869, to take exercise in Hunt 
& Butterworth's Gymnasium on the fourth floor of 
Parsons block on Canal street. In this gymnasium were 
two sets of rowing weights of six each, and the students 
began to exercise on them with considerable regularity. 
The late Frederick A. Gower and the late Edgar H. 



276 Memories of Brown 

Luther, both members of the freshman class, were much 
interested in rowing, and through their efforts consider- 
able interest in the sport was aroused in the class. Ten 
or twelve members were selected from whom it was hoped 
a freshman crew would develop. These freshmen went 
with a good deal of regularity to the gymnasium, and it 
was never dif^cult at about four o'clock in the afternoon 
to find six of their number on hand to occupy a set of the 
weights. After a little, it became evident who should 
compose the crew. The six were selected, and from this 
time on, at an agreed hour, they would meet daily and 
take their pull on the weights, which generally consisted 
of three thousand strokes. 

Early in the spring, as soon as the weather became 
suitable, they purchased a six-oar shell, called " 17.40/^ " (so 
called from the fact that the Ward brothers, noted oars- 
men, had made that time in her in a three-mile race on 
Lake Quinsigamond in July, 1868, with Harvard), and 
went out with her, from the Narragansett Boat Club 
House, which stood at the foot of Orange street. She was 
a large, heavy boat, built for full-grown men, and totally 
unfit for these youths. Still, even with such an unweildy 
craft they could acquire the use of the oar and learn to 
manage a boat. 

The time being fixed for the initial " spin," the crew as- 
sembled at the Narragansett's boathouse and placed 17.- 
40>^ in the water. Several members of the class, and 
others, were present to witness the first effort in a boat. 
So far as is known no member of the crew had ever been 
in a shell. When all were properly seated in the shell, 
oars were run through the outriggers and placed in the 
hands of the crew, and ij./^oY^ was pushed gently from 
the float. Not a member of the crew dared to move or 
pull on his oar for fear he would capsize the boat. When 
at length they acquired sufficient courage and attempted 



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ofB. 



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to row, they presented a most awkward appearance and 
elicited many uncomplimentary remarks from the persons 
looking on, who facetiously asked if that was the crew 
that was to compete with Harvard and Yale. Immedi- 
ately after this time they began to keep the boat on the 
Seekonk in the new boathouse, and the crew went out 
daily. 

Soon they began to go out twice a day, often going to the 
Seekonk before sunrise for a pull, returning to college in 




Brown Crew, 1871 



time for chapel exercises, and, after college exercises for 
the day had closed, again going to the Seekonk for another 
pull, — they always rowed at least three miles at a pull, 
and, many times, six or more. It was necessary to make 
the trip from college to the Seekonk on foot, as there was 
no conveyance at that time. As the race for which they 
were preparing was to be rowed over a mile-and-a-half 
course, then turn, and return to the starting point, it was 
believed that proficiency in making the turn would be of 
great advantage in the race; accordingly the crew prac- 
ticed a great deal in making turns. They would frequently 



278 Memories of Brown 



get under headway and while rowing at their highest 
speed reverse the boat. This was done by placing the 
port oars deep in the water — the blades so arranged as 
to hold water, thus forming a pivot around which the boat 
turned and having little tendency to throw her off, — 
whilst the starboard oars were plied with all the skill and 
energy of which the men were capable. By this practice 
great proficiency was acquired in turning the boat. Soon 
after they went on the water, it was decided to send to 
Worcester a freshman, but not a university, crew. 

On June 6, 1870, they rowed a race with the Narragan- 
sett Boat crew, and later in the same month another with 
the Harvard Scientific crew, on the Seekonk. Brown 
lost to the Narragansetts. Early in the race with the 
Harvards the Brown stroke broke his oar and the Har- 
vards won by 1 3 seconds. The Harvard crew spoke many 
words of encouragement and the Brown crew felt quite 
elated at the showing made by them on this occasion. 

About this time their challenge was sent to the fresh- 
man crews of Harvard, Yale and Amherst. The Har- 
vard and Amherst crews promptly accepted the challenge ; 
Yale, while not refusing the challenge, never accepted it. 
The financial problem must now be met. A new shell 
and a set of spoon oars must be had without delay ; this 
would require about $500 and there was considerable addi- 
tional expense to be met. The situation was made known 
to ex- Governor William Sprague, then United States 
senator from Rhode Island. Senator Sprague promptly 
furnished the necessary fund to purchase the outfit. The 
students and their friends contributed the necessary fund 
to maintain the crew whilst training on the lake. The 
new shell and oars were received about the first of July, 
when the crew with their coach, Mr. Charles C. Luther ' 
of the class of 1871, went to Lake Quinsigamond to 
train until the race, which was to be rowed on the 22d 



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279 



of July. The university race between Harvard and Yale 
was to be rowed immediately after the freshman race. 
The crowd in attendance to witness the races was said 




Class of 1873 Grew 

Winners from Yale, Harvard and Amherst at Worcester in 1870 

(From left to right) — E. H.Luther, captain and bow; G. T. Brown, starboard stroke; 

F. A. GowER, stroke; A.M.Smith, port waist ; A. D. McClellan, port bow ; 

W. E. Caldwell, starboard waist. 



to be the largest ever assembled at an intercollegiate 
regatta, and the great interest seemed to centre in the 
freshman race. A newspaper account the day after the 



280 Memories of Brown 

race says : " This is accounted for in part by the fact that in 
the freshman race there were two new entries — Brown 
and Amherst, their many friends being anxious to witness 
their skill and muscle." It was an ideal day, the lake 
without a ripple, and many persons were scattered on the 
banks of the lake, along the whole course ; upon the 
wagon road and Regatta Point was a dense mass of hu- 
manity. 

The Brown crew was made up as follows : Frederick A. 
Gower, stroke, George T. Brown, Alfred M. Smith, Wil- 
liam E. Caldwell, Arthur D. McClellan, Edgar H. Luther, 
bow and captain. 

As the time approached for the race to be called the 
freshman crews were ordered to appear at the starting 
point. A newspaper account says: "The Brown crew 
were the first to answer to the call, and came shooting up 
through the causeway, dressed in white pants, with which 
their brown backs presented a strong contrast, and wear- 
ing brown handkerchiefs about their heads ; on the bow 
of their shell was a tasty brown flag, and on the stern a 
white flag bearing the figures ''j^)-'' Another account 
says, of Brown's style of rowing : " Their backs moved for- 
ward and back and their oars rose and fell with the pre- 
cision and regularity of a machine ; . . . the long reach 
forward, the quick catch at the beginning, the steady pull 
through, and the neat finish at the end, followed by the 
rapid recovery for the next stroke . . . showed that they 
had learned their lesson thoroughly." A newspaper ac- 
count the next day says : " It was talked among the crowd 
that the contest was to be between Brown and Yale ; it 
seemed to be conceded that the others were not to make 
much of a show." 

A few rods above the starting point, is a slight elevation 
of land extending a little into the lake, called Regatta 
Point. In drawing for positions the Amherst crew got 



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281 



the inside course, nearest Regatta Point, Brown next, 
Yale third, and Harvard next to the further shore. 

The freshman race was to be rowed at 3 o'clock, but 
the word "go" was not given until 5. At length the 
crews were in position, and while waiting there for the 
word " go," seconds seemed minutes, and minutes hours ; 
everyone could hear his heart beat. Silence was at 
length broken by the starter's voice, "Are you ready .r*" 




Class Crew, 1874 



All sprang forward on their oars, ready to take water. 
A response was heard from one of the boats, " No ! " 
Another delay ensued until the boats were again in posi- 
tion, when again was heard from the starter, "Are you 
ready ? " All again sprang forward on their oars. A 
short pause ensued. No response being heard, the starter 
shouted at the top of his voice, " Go ! " All bent to the 
oar, the boats shot forward, and the freshman race was 
on. 



282 Memories of B. 



rown 



A newspaper account the next day says of the start : 
" At the first stroke it was observed that the Harvards 
labored too hard, their oars dipped too deep, while the 
Browns and Amhersts behaved splendidly." Another 
newspaper account says : " A good start was made by all 
the boats, yet the Brown crew made the finest one, and 
started up the lake pulling 48 strokes a minute, and with 
the most perfect uniformity." Continuing, the report says : 
" The Amherst crew started off well, pulUng 50 strokes 
a minute, but it was evidently more than they could 
hold. The Yales were also pulling 48 and the Har- 
vards 50." 

As Regatta Point was reached the four crews were 
nearly abreast; Amherst however was slightly leading 
Brown, and, thinking it necessary to make into the lake 
further to prevent grounding on the point, swung partly 
across Brown's bow, causing a collision and compelling 
both crews to stop rowing. The Amherst boat scraped 
its whole length across the bow of the Brown boat, tearing 
away the rudder of the former and the prow of the latter, 
but causing no leak. In the meantime the Harvard and 
Yale crews were making good time up the lake. As soon 
as the Brown boat was freed from the Amherst, the 
Browns started anew, exerting themselves to their utmost 
and fairly lifting the boat out of water at every stroke. 
Before reaching the turn stake the Harvards were over- 
taken and passed. When Brown arrived at the stake she 
found Yale already turning but having made the fatal 
mistake of running too far from the stake. Brown's cap- 
tain, quick to take advantage of the opportunity, pointed 
his boat at the gap, and shot in at full speed. With port 
oars projecting deep into the water, in a nearly perpendicu- 
lar position, and hugging close to the stake, Brown turned 
inside of Yale. As Yale could show clear water at the 
stake, she had the right of way, and care must be taken 



Memories of Brown ■ 283 

not to foul her, lest, by so doing, Brown should lose the 
race, even if she came in ahead. 

Great care was observed in making the turn. Whilst 
Brown and Yale were turning. Harvard came up and com- 
menced to turn. Now ensued the most exciting time of 
the race. The three crews exerting themselves to their 
utmost, the judges on the stake-boat shouting at the top 
of their voices to their several favorites, — some stimulat- 
ing to greater efforts, others cautioning to prevent a foul, — 
presented a thrilling spectacle indeed. The Brown boat 
was managed by the captain from his position in the bow, 
and the rudder was controlled with his feet by means of 
wires extending the length of the boat. It is evident that 
a cool head, which Brown's captain certainly possessed, 
was required at this time. 

When Brown had finished the turn she was a good 
length ahead of Yale and could show clear water. A 
newspaper report the next day says of this turn : " The 
Yale crew were the first to reach the stake, but in making 
their turn they left water enough for the Browns, who 
were close upon them, to make the finest turn ever wit- 
nessed on the lake, inside of them, almost before their 
opponents were aware of it." 

From Regatta Point the crews could be seen at the 
stake, but it could not be determined which one was lead- 
ing. All eyes at the point were eagerly directed towards 
the crews. A newspaper account says that when the 
crews could be distinguished, " the Brown caps appeared 
at least two lengths^ in advance of Yale, and Harvard 
third." Another account says of the race down the lake : 
" On the down course the Brown boys led easily, pulling 
a splendid stroke, their every motion showing that uni- 
formity and self-possession that can only come from long- 
continued and efftcient practice. 

" As they passed Regatta Point, perfectly calm and lead- 



284 Memories of Brown 

ing by several lengths, cheer after cheer went up from 
their friends on the shore, cheers given only as students 
can give them. Responding to the shout, the brave fel- 
lows bent to their work with a new energy, and, putting 
on a magnificent spurt, shot over the line five or six 
lengths ahead of Yale, winning the race in 19.21, the fast- 
est time ever made by a freshman crew." Yale came in 
in 19.45 and Harvard in 20. 

The crew was at once presented with a set of flags by 
the committee. One account says: " The Browns, with 
their flags flying, rowed up past the crowd of spectators 
amid cheers and waving of handkerchiefs and music by 
the band." Amherst rowed leisurely over the course and 
when she came in claimed a foul on Brown which was 
disallowed. The city of Worcester presented each mem- 
ber of the crew with a silver medal. 

This victory created much enthusiasm in the college in 
boating, and when the students assembled in the fall prep- 
arations were commenced for sending a freshman and 
university crew to the regatta the next year. It was 
thought boating had come to Brown to stay. Brown 
since that time has entered crews as follows: Ingleside, 
near Springfield, July 21, 1871, both a freshman and a uni- 
versity crew; same place, July 24, 1872, a freshman crew; 
in 1873 no crew was sent, largely because of the expense ; 
Saratoga, July 15, 1874, a freshman crew; same place, 
July 13 and 14, 1875, ^ freshman and a university crew. 
On account of failure to win a race, interest in the sport 
began to flag and has never been revived. For many 
years now, it has appeared to the outside world that in- 
terest in the sport, in the college, has entirely ceased to 
exist. Only two members of the old crew of 1870 now 
survive to tell the story of that race. They are William 
E. Caldwell, of New York city, and the writer. 

George T. Brown, iSyj. 



Memories of Brown 285 



Three Immortals 



AT this length of time there are three men, among 
the members of the faculty of from thirty to 
thirty-five years ago, but now no longer living, 
whose personality still remains vivid in the 
minds of those who studied under them. 

Certainly no one can soon forget his impressions of J. 
Lewis Diman, professor of history. In him one recalls a 
teacher who was a revelation to the young mind of the 
charm which historical exposition was capable of attain- 
ing in the hands of a master of the art. One recalls his 
use of the English language, revealing by turns the qual- 
ities of lucidity, delicacy, felicity, audacity and impres- 
siveness. One recalls a teacher whose own prose, though 
indeed lacking in self-consciousness, and not put forward 
as " literature," nevertheless had many of the qualities of 
great literature — which, in brief, to quote a skilful charac- 
terization by a more recent writer (the Columbia profes- 
sor of comparative literature) was, in reality, "self-pos- 
sessed, subdued and graceful conversation, modulated, 
making its points without aggressive insistence, yet with 
certainty, keeping interest alive by a brilliant but nat- 
ural turn and by the brief and luminous flash of truth 
through a perfect phrase." One recalls the fearless play 
of his humor — like the play of "heat lightning" on 
an August night — utterly without apprehensions as to 
what provincial or hide-bound prejudices heretofore held 
by the listener might thereby be placed in their true 
light. 



286 



Memories of Brown 



To come within the orbit of such a teacher was, in 
itself, " a Hberal education." Enhghtening it surely was, 
in its indication of what the dictates of good taste called 
for, and no less in the mental perspective which it con- 
stantly afforded. Moreover, this was a teacher who, in 




Professor J. Lewis Diman, 1851 
(Taken about 1869) 



spite of his apparent disregard of "conventions," was one 
of the most self-poised of men ; and the student who fol- 
lowed sympathetically his analytical methods came, in 
time, to demand a " sweet reasonableness " in any author 
whose treatment of a subject was placed before him. 



Memories of Brown 287 

Not only a sense of form in an author's language, but a 
sense of proportion in an author's thought, came to be 
firmly fixed in the student's mind as the indispensable 
ideal to be looked for in any work of exposition. Lastly, 
and most priceless of all, the teacher's mental attitude 
toward truth was one which could not fail to be commun- 
icated to the pupil. To the man who had grown up, in a 
blind way, to regard Protestantism as the only possible re- 
ligious view, and all else as unthinkable, or to the man 
who had unthinkingly accepted the political party of his 
father, the enlightening and emancipating method of this 
teacher of history was in the highest degree salutary. Of 
a certain American man of letters, whose point of view 
was a painfully limited one, it was once remarked, that he 
"was more than provincial; he was parochial." From 
such a "parochial" point of view, the student under Pro- 
fessor Diman was inevitably liberated, and his mental 
horizon correspondingly widened. Henceforth his mind 
would necessarily be far otherwise than inhospitable to 
new truths and new impressions. For him the desire to 
see " things as they are " would henceforth be his ideal, 
even though it should lead him " To scorn delights, and 
live laborious days." 

But while the student's contact with Professor Diman 
inevitably led to breadth of view, there were not want- 
ing impulses toward depth also. These impulses likewise 
were inseparably connected with a strong and vital per- 
sonality, — that of the late President Robinson, who not 
only acted as the executive of the college, but held the 
chair of " moral and intellectual philosophy." It is com- 
mon to think of the present time as one contrasting 
sharply with the period of the early seventies, in respect 
to mechanical inventions and their results ; but the con- 
trast is even sharper, perhaps, in the field of thought. 
Much that has now passed into the accepted mental " bag- 



288 



Memories of Brown 



gage," so to speak, of the thinking man of today — scien- 
tific and theological alike — has been accepted only after 
long and patient education of the public by scientific men 
of the type of the late Mr. Huxley; and the acceptance of 
each new morsel, in this educative process, has not been 




EzEKiEL Oilman Robinson, 1838 
President of Brown University 1872- 



unaccompanied by a wrench or a shock. But it is per- 
haps safe to say that those who have received their im- 
pulse towards the investigation of truth from Dr. Robin- 
son's teachings have had few occasions to experience a 
mental " wrench," in their readjustment to new or un- 



Memories of Brown 289 

familiar truth. Nowhere, perhaps, is the mental attitude 
thus indicated more perfectly embodied than in Lessing's 
impressive utterance : — 

" If God held all truth shut in his right hand, and in his 
left held nothing but the ever-restless instinct for truth, 
though with the condition of for ever and ever erring, and 
should say to me, ' Choose ! ' I should bow humbly to his 
left hand, and say, ' Father, give ! pure truth is for Thee 
alone!'" 

One recalls vividly the physical qualities which added 
to the impressiveness of this notable teacher; and, no 
less, the vigor and fearlessness of his thought ; and, with 
a special sense of gratitude, his uniform practice of dis- 
couraging the dogmatic or " cock-sure " spirit of assertion, 
remembering that all true science is modest. One re- 
members also with equal gratitude the lofty and disinter- 
ested ethical standards implanted through his teaching ; 
and instinctively recalls those inspiring lines of Matthew 
Arnold: — 



For rigorous teachers seized my youth, 
And purged its faith, and trimm'd its fire, 
Shew'd me the high, white star of Truth, 
There bade me gaze, and there aspire." 



There is one other figure that stands out with equal 
vividness after all these years. It is that of John Larkin 
Lincoln, professor of Latin. It is not given to every 
man who follows the profession of teaching to enlist the 
admiration and the confidence of his pupils, signally and 
completely. It is the distinction of a still smaller number 
to be able to add to these — priceless as they are — the in- 
stinctive affection of their pupils. Professor Lincoln's 
chair was, for a great part of the time, that of a single Ian- 



290 



Memories of Brown 



guage and literature, but the man was ever greater than 
the chair; and his teaching was as wide as that of " The 
Humanities," in the old-world sense of the phrase. Few 
students could go out from under his teaching without a 
wider conception of classical literature than that of a mere 




Professor John Larkin Lincoln, 1836 



vehicle for the teaching of Latin or Greek grammar ; and 
the pregnant words of James Russell Lowell will express 
his conception of the vital quality of all great literature : — 
" Only those languages can properly be called dead in 
which nothing living has been written." 



Memories of Brown 29 1 

All students of his can vividly recall this prince of 
teachers, seated at his desk, hearing a recitation ; and the 
keen enjoyment with which he discovered that a nice turn 
of expression or a delicate shade of meaning in the thought 
had found due appreciation by the pupil who recited. A 
smaller number remember with inexpressible pleasure the 
experiences of a few men — then " recent graduates " — 
who had the privilege of reading Cicero with him through 
one entire winter, in the days before the establishment of 
a "graduate department " at Brown University. All his 
students remember, as if it were yesterday, his hearty 
and unaffected interest in all that concerned the college 
and its students, through all the closing years of his life. 
Not as an " old " man, however, does he live in our mem- 
ories, but rather as a man who wore with emphatic grace 
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes's exquisite characterization 
of himself, as " seventy years young." To no man more 
than to him was the supreme satisfaction given of enjoy- 
ing 

". . . that which should accompany old age, 
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends." 

The Brown University student of the early 70's would 
be less than human if he did not feel undying gratitude 
to a college which has given him such ideals and such 
memories ; which has supplied such impulses and such 
inspirations. 

William E. Foster, 187 j. 



292 Memories of Brown 

President Wheeler's First Impres- 
sions of Brown 



IN the late afternoon of September 7, 1871, I entered 
the city of Providence along with three almost equally- 
verdant persons who had been my classmates at New 
London Academy, — an institution located, according 
to its catalogue, in the hills of New Hampshire, nearly 
2000 feet above the level of the sea and seven miles from 
any possible temptation. Fear of the wicked city filled 
our hearts, and dread of the entrance examinations set for 
the coming day. As we started up College Hill we had 
our first glimpse of Brown in the person of Professor 
Lincoln. He wore a gray beaver hat and was coming 
merrily down the hill, turning his high-lifted face this way 
and that to gather the prospect in. A friend who had us 
in charge nudged us vehemently. " See, there comes 
Professor Lincoln." With a quick bow for our guide and 
a kindly glance for his verdant convoy he swept by. We 
turned and watched him till he rounded the corner into 
Market Square. I thought him a gentleman then, and I 
think so still. 

I remember nothing else of my first afternoon except 
the hill and the doorsteps — the doorsteps of those people 
who, as Robert Burdette noted on his first visit, were so 
aristocratic that they go upstairs to get down cellar. That 
night we spent, instead of slept, at the Central Hotel on 
Canal street, all four in one large westward-looking room, 
two in beds and two on the floor. Between thinking about 



Memories of Brown 



293 



the impending examinations and keeping- a close and re- 
sponsible watch upon the various urban activities, includ- 
ing a fire alarm, which from time to time were paraded 
before our windows, we laid that night some considerable 
foundations of a liberal education. The next morning in 
great weariness of the flesh and much faintness of heart 




View from Crawford-Street Bridge, 1873 



we began the entrance examinations. The only subjects 
were mathematics (arithmetic and algebra as far as quad- 
ratic equations), Greek and Latin. All were condensed 
into one day, and at five in the afternoon we assembled 
to learn our fate. There were only eight or ten candi- 
dates — -but we were needed, for, even including six B. P. 



294 



Memories of Brown 



men and three of the " select course," there were all told 
but fifty-six enrolled for the freshman class. I did not 
know, however, that we were in a " small college." It 
seemed to me a very big and a very remarkable college- 
I do not think I knew any were bigger, except Harvard, 
which I had heard was dangerously big and dangerously 
lax in theology and various else — aside from the entrance 
requirements. 

I was sure no college had such remarkable professors as 
Brown. Harkness's grammar filled me with reverence 
and awe, but the first vision of the author was a shock. 
That such a man should smile on freshmen, and smile as 
if he had heard all about us and had been looking for us 
was unbelievable. I could only account for it in the case 
of myself and friends on the theory that he greatly ad- 
mired New London and my teacher Mr. Willard — and 
forthwith my admiration for Mr. Willard grew apace. It 
was the last year of President Caswell's administration, 
and already Dr. Robinson had been elected to succeed 
him. It was currently expected that the new master 
would not be as mild as the old, and it was generally 
thought best to improve the shining hours — but still it 
seemed likely that President Caswell could not be well 
surpassed in genial dignity by any college president, and 
that in spite of the commonly reported failure of his class- 
room experiments in natural philosophy, he was really a 
remarkable scientist when it came to the principles in- 
volved. There was no doubt about Professor Lincoln. 
In his seat behind the desk of his Latin room, he even 
looked tall. Professor George I. Chace, then professor of 
philosophy, was an object of universal respect and admi- 
ration, but a freshman might look on him only from afar. 
He was, we thought, for seniors only. Seniors were in- 
vited frequently to his table, and they adored him. He 
had been, it was said, prominently considered for the 



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presidency at the time of Dr. Robinson's election, and all 
this made it more glorious to be a senior, and more pitiful 
to be a freshman, especially as it was reported that he 
would withdraw from the university at the close of the 
year and leave us forever after. Professor Diman, too, 




Professor Eli Whitney Blake 
(Taken about 1874) 



was said to be a remarkable man. He looked it. Later 
on I had occasion to build on more than hearsay. It 
was always the custom for students to lift their hats on 
meeting a professor on the street or on the campus, but 
tradition said that Professor Diman never noticed, on the 



296 Memories of Brown 

street, any but seniors. I think this made him more at- 
tractive. All the more reason for being a senior. He 
was undoubtedly a very great man, and it seemed daringly 
wicked to call him " Jerry." 

As the faculty sat before us in chapel, winged out like a 
coat of arms on either side of the high presidential box, 
there was no kindlier face than that which shone out from 
the first seat on the north, the cold scientific side, — the 
fatherly face of Professor Samuel S. Greene, whom we 
rejoiced to call " Betsey." It was not only on account of 
Greene's English Grammar that we thought him great. 
He was unmistakably inspired of pedagogics whatever it- 
might be he taught. There was not much pedagogics 
abroad then in the land, neither had child study nor the 
psychological laboratory yet preempted all the "method" 
claims, but " Betsey " Greene was a teacher and devoted 
to te3.chmg per se. It mattered little to him what the sub- 
ject was — algebra, mechanics or grammar, if only he 
could seem to seta mind aworking. His faith in the value 
of pure and naked mind and in the etymology of the word 
education was so firm and great that it became his pecul- 
iar pleasure to educe the lesson of the day out of the pure 
mind substance of a pupil innocent of all special knowledge 
thereof. For illustrative apparatus in astronomy, mechan- 
ics, trigonometry there mostly sufficed him a black globe, 
a lead-pencil and an ink-bottle, and he was withal a lovely 
soul and much beloved. 

Of my freshman ideas concerning the other professors I 
can only remember that Professor Clarke made the impres- 
sion of not telling all he knew ; that about the person of the 
professorof chemistry,whoseexperimentsalways succeeded 
and whose work went off with a dash and precision, there 
hung a certain atmosphere of clean-cut modernity ; that 
the new professor of physics. Professor Blake, gave 
promise of bringing in much fresh air with him ; and 



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297 



that Professor Bancroft, though always overworked, 
was a great exponent of correct style in writing and 
of "pure tone" in speaking. He was, as I now know, a 
most faithful, helpful man. Most of us came to owe him 
for definitely useful instruction more than we owed any 
other college teacher. His teaching of English literature 




View down College Street, 1873 



was hopelessly embarrassed by a slavish adherence to a 
hopeless textbook, but his instruction for writing and 
speaking counted for good. 

The library with its thirty-eight thousand books made 
a profound impression upon me. Its mysterious alcoves 
lined to the high ceilings with delicately matched volumes 



298 Memories of Brown 

whose solemn backs proclaimed their worth ; the boxes of 
cards on the window-seats which, written in the noble 
caligraphy of the librarian, presented an array of titled 
opportunities for learning such as my eye had never seen ; 
the loving care of Dr. Guild as he patted the backs of the 
books on the shelves and constrained them to euphuistic 
order ; the story of the rare editions and wonderful col- 
lections which the librarian was glad to tell, even to fresh- 
men — all these combined to make the library in my eyes 
by far the most dignified and worshipful department of 
the college. The orderliness of the books in their clever 
arrangement by size and binding played no small part in 
the impression, but I remember some years later a rising 
doubt, when on finding a shelf of interspersed volumes in 
Arabic, Shan, Cherokee and Persian, I asked the assist- 
ant what particular classification that shelf represented, 
and received the answer: " That shelf, Mr, Wheeler, rep- 
resents a body of languages with which the librarian is 
totally unacquainted." Still every old graduate of Brown 
remembers with deepest thankfulness the good cheer and 
welcome with which this devoted friend of the university 
made us all feel at home in the library. In this regard he 
was the great forerunner of the modern type of the libra- 
rian. 

My earliest impressions regarding the government of 
the college associate themselves, firstly, with a staid ad- 
dress of counsel delivered to the freshmen by Professor 
Clarke on the opening day of the year ; secondly, with a 
printed copy of the rules delivered to us at that time in 
which we were forbidden to use burning fluid in our rooms 
or to attend the theatre ; thirdly, with the perception that 
the president was an officer who read scriptures and 
prayed in the morning, and dispelled bonfires and mobs 
at night ; and lastly, with the recognition that the faithful 
and excellent registrar, the Rev. William Douglas, who 



Memories of Brown 



299 



preached weekly at the state's prison, and kept account of 
the student's marks and tuition and room bills, thus per- 
forming, as some witty student discovered, the dual task 
of an ancient disciple who both preached and sat at the 
receipt of customs, — that this much-tried worthy was as- 




Professor J. Lewis Diman, 1851 
(Taken about 1880) 



sociated with the two hard-worked janitors of Hope Col- 
lege and University Hall in the odious and mostly un- 
profitable task of repressing minor evil-doings and detect- 
ing evil-doing minors. The registrar and his family lived 
with us in University Hall, much I fear to their discomfort 



300 Memories of B 



rown 



and irritation of spirit, but the only thing about the ar- 
rangement which tended to give us the "home feehng" 
was the estabhshed privilege of going to the registrar's 
kitchen on Saturday evening for a pitcher of hot water to 
tone the weekly bath of preparation. On other occasions 
our sole reliance was the old well at the southeast corner 
of University Hall with its two buckets suspended over a 
wheel, or the iron pump back of Hope College. I never 
heard either suspected of germs. I suppose it was before 
the day of germs. A dead cat was found once in the 
lower well, but was removed without apparent injury to 
the water. We lived a comfortable and self-contained 
life. We were very small, but did not know it. We 
played baseball on the campus directly behind University 
Hall with the first base hard by the northeast door and 
the home plate a few feet north of the path joining Man- 
ning Hall and the chemical laboratory. Here we played 
football, too, in monster mob games with half the college 
participating. Everybody knew everybody else, and the 
cream-cakes and candy of " Old John" the appleman had 
made him common friend, if not common creditor, of us 
all. Entire classes almost unbroken by electives passed 
year after year through the same courses, taught by the 
same men with the same questions, the same jokes, the 
same reviews and back-reviews, so that our life was 
founded in common experiences and provided with com- 
mon pabulum for thought and allusion. 

It was indeed a cozy college and small, but for us it be- 
came great, because in the compactness of its life all its 
resources were available to use with a minimum of waste. 

Benjamin Ide Wheeler, iSj^. 



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When Dr. Robinson Came to Brown 




R. ROBINSON entered upon his 
active duties as president of 
Brown University in September, 
1872, and hence had his first ex- 
periences with the class of '76. 
At the time of his assumption of 
the high office, Dr. Robinson 
held decided ideas as to the dis- 
cipline of the students. The 
class of '76 was imbued with the 
revolutionary spirit of 1776, and 
many were the clashes between 
the vigorous and strenuous presi- 
dent and his active subjects. 
Soon after the opening of the term. Dr. Robinson as- 
sembled the class and delivered a lecture on the necessity 
of obedience to the rules of the college. At the close he 
asked all those who intended to obey the rules of the col- 
lege to rise. In looking over the class he found that there 
were two who had not arisen. He immediately turned 
around with his rapid movement and asked them: " Do 
you intend to obey the rules of the college or not? Upon 
your decision rests the question whether you shall stay in 
college or not." One of the two, perhaps a little bolder 
than the other, suggested he did not really know what the 
rules of the college were. Dr. Robinson said : " It makes 
no difference what they are, they are the rules of the col- 
lege and they shall be obeyed." This member of the class 



302 



Memories of Brown 



then suggested that he had been told that one of the 
rules was that every member of the college should attend 
church twice each Sunday and he thought this was a too 
strict requirement. Dr. Robinson immediately said : 
"Is that a rule of the college?" Receiving no definite 
answer he said : " It doesn't make any difference whether 
it is the rule of the college or not, one attendance at 
church on Sunday is enough," 




The Old Chapel, 1874 



Another incident of the clash of the president of the 
college with the class of '76 was when Dr. Robinson hav- 
ing in our freshman year suspended one of the members 
for bringing a cane upon the campus at an inopportune 



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300 



time, so that it led to a class contest, the class thought 
that the member was improperly suspended, and appointed 
a committee to visit Dr. Robinson in relation to the mat- 
ter. This committee was selected with great care and con- 
sisted of five members of the class. They went to Dr. 
Robinson's office, which was in the president's house (at the 
top of the hill) and when one of the members knocked at 
the door, he was told in a gruff voice to " Come in," The 
committee entered the room and found Dr. Robinson 
busily writing. They waited a few minutes and getting 
no greeting they all sat down. Immediately they had 
done this Dr. Robinson threw down his pen and in a loud 
voice said : " You may stand, gentlemen." The men 
rose as though they had been shocked by a galvanic bat- 
tery, the knees of each member becoming as stiff as ram- 
rods. The next question of Dr. Robinson was: "Why 
do you come?" One of the members feebly suggesting 
the purpose that brought them there, he turned upon the 
member making the suggestion and said : " I have no 
doubt you ought to be dismissed from college too, and 
unless you gentlemen retire at once I shall see that you 
are all suspended." Hence nothing came of the deter- 
mined attitude of the class to relieve the member from 
unjust suspension. 

Richard B. Comstock, i8y6. 




View from the roof of University Hall 



304 Memories of Brown 

President Robinson on the Rush 

Line 



IN the early days of President Robinson's administra- 
tion, there were many impromptu rushes between 
the lower classes. The president vigorously disap- 
proved of these, and either he or the registrar, " Billy 
Dug," usually appeared on the scene before the rush cul- 
minated. It is safe to say that the distant appearance of 
the president was heralded by the cry, " Here's Zeke," 
and this by the immediate and total disappearance of all 
participants. When the registrar, however, appeared as 
the queller, the combatants withdrew slowly and sullenly, 
firing as they went many a gun of ridicule and objurga- 
tion, since the registrar was not held in quite as much awe. 
The president always bore down upon the mob with 
gigantic strides and a threatening and imposing front. 
His silk hat was usually well back upon his head and his 
frock coat was unbuttoned, while its long tails floated be- 
hind him. His high patrician features were mantled with 
more than the paternal severity of a " Roman father" as 
he thundered from afar, " Disperse, young men, disperse." 
On one occasion, '76 and '']'] were struggling in the rear 
of Hope when the dread cry of " Zeke " arose. In less 
time than it can be told, every boy but one had disap- 
peared in the then cavernous depths of Hope. That un- 
fortunate one, the writer, in his haste bumped into the 
college pump, and was thrown backward upon the ground. 
As he picked himself up he saw no living being save the 



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president, who stood over him and who in stentorian tones 
shouted, " Disperse, young man, disperse." 

One evening, somewhat late, after a baseball victory 
over Harvard, several of the boys went down street to a 
"little supper." The floors above the restaurant were 
used for a hotel. One of the boys felt very well, indeed, 
and when in this condition his favorite pastime was to at- 
tempt to sing " Lauriger." On this occasion he was doing 
unusually well, both as to volume of sound and distinct- 
ness of utterance, when the proprietor came up and said : 
" I really must ask you not to sing so loudly. You are 
disturbing the guests who are sleeping above." 

Our friend, in perfect seriousness and with the preter- 
natural gravity which often accompanies his condition, 
replied, " How in blazes can I disturb them when I am 
singing in a language they don't understand ? " 

William C.Joslin, iSyd. 




306 Memories of Brown 

President Robinson and the Vale- 
dictorian of Seventy-seven 



The following story was told me by " Possum " Knight, 

President Robinson, though somewhat stern and impa- 
tient of opposition, yet understood and appreciated frank- 
ness. 

The class of '77 were assembled for metaphysics. 
Thomas, the class valedictorian, " brawling Tommy," as 
the boys sometimes called him on account of his hearty 
exuberant manner, was called upon for a passage in the 
preceding lecture. 

He recited it smoothly, word for word, as dictated. 

"Humph! humph!" ejaculated the president, "said 
like a parrot, but what does it mean ? " 

" Well, sir," replied Tommy, calmly, " I read it over three 
or four times and couldn't see any sense in it, so I just 
learned it by heart." 

" Ah, well ! " said President Robinson, " I must have 
failed to make myself intelligible. Let me explain." 

Walter Lee Munro, iSyg. 



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309 



The College Buildings in Other 

Days 




;^-*(iMit«iii*»Miiiiriiiiiiii'/iiiiiiii^J 



HE college could boast of 
but five buildings when I 
first entered upon my term 
of service at Brown in 
1877— University Hall, 
Hope College, Manning 
Hall, Rhode Island Hall 
and the chemical labora- 
tory. Under the above 
heading I have attempted 
to record several incidents 
and facts regarding these 
buildings many of which, 
I believe, have not ap- 
peared in print before. 
University Hall is 150 
feet by 46 ; with a lateral extension of 10 by 30 feet in the 
centre; and originally a hall, 12 feet wide, ran the full 
length of the structure. During its early history the first 
floor, south end, was used for domestic purposes by the 
steward and his family. The middle and north end were 
used for recitation-rooms at one time. Professor Lincoln 
occupied the northwest corner and Professor Jewett the 
northeast corner. The west central room was used for 
the chapel exercises and public gatherings, while that on 
the east side served for a dining-room, or, as it was called, 




308 Memories of Brown 

" Commons Hall." The room was furnished with four 
long tables ; one of the tables was called the " Graham 
table," the food for this table being cheaper and prepared 
especially for the accommodation of students of limited 
means. 

Mr. Lemuel H. Elliot, registrar and steward from 1825 
to 1864, sat at the head table and assumed parental authori- 
ty, wielding the carving knife with a marked degree of sat- 
isfaction. In the latter part of 1907 I had a long interview 
with a clear-brained old man, Mr, McHale, who had 
served as errand boy for Mr. Elliot some sixty years be- 
fore. He was a boy-of-all-work, not only saving the stew- 
ard many steps, but also assisting Mrs. Elliot in getting 
ready the large brick oven where her famous Brown pies 
were cooked. This oven was most capacious, occupying 
the southwest corner of University Hall, and would hold 
over fifty pies at one time. The oven was first filled with 
wood, and, after that was consumed, the hot embers and 
ashes were carefully brushed out and the pies placed upon 
the hot bricks. These pies were indeed wonderfully good, 
and many old graduates refer to them in a tender strain. 

In "commons" the dining tables were composed of 
boards stretched across wooden horses. The seniors 
were distributed among the different tables and assisted 
in maintaining order. The breakfast usually consisted 
of hot brownbread, crackers and milk, the steward sli- 
cing the bread at the side table and McHale acting as 
waiter. The tables were bountifully spread, considering 
the low price paid by the students, one dollar per week. 
When anything occurred out of the ordinary, Mr. Elliot 
would repeatedly rap on the table with the handle of the 
carving knife. 

At this period (1877) University Hall looked more like 
a well-battered relic than an institution of refinement and 
culture. The constant passing of students, in and out. 



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309 



for nearly a century and a half had greatly worn away 
the old steps in the middle, rendering their use in the 
winter season somewhat hazardous. The low ceilings 
and poor ventilation, combined with suffocating gases 
from the ancient furnace and lack of sufficient heat in the 




Anthony McCabe 



recitation rooms, would often cause the class to "cut." 
The classroom furniture consisted of large iron chairs 
screwed to the floor, each one having the right arm large 
enough to hold a blank-book and inkwell for examination 
purposes, and once each quarter of a century they would 
receive a coat of paint. They were all adorned with em- 



3 1 Memories of Brown 

blems of every description carved out of the thick paint 
with pocket knives. In those days the temperature of the 
lecture-room in winter very frequently went below sixty 
degrees and the iron chairs were a source of much dis- 
comfort and chilliness. The thoughtful student soon 
learned to carry his heaviest overcoat into the lecture- 
room and with it carefully pad these dreaded ice-cold 
chairs which seemed never to get warm. In Rhode Island 
Hall today these indestructible chairs are still to be found. 
As it is impossible to wear them out they will very likely 
be still in service when Brown celebrates her bi-centennial. 

A long, narrow and very high walnut table instead of a 
desk stood on a low platform. When the professor was 
seated at the table very little of him could be seen except 
his feet and legs. One day the students determined to 
perpetrate a joke on a professor who was of a very ner- 
vous and retiring temperament. After they had taken 
their seats and the recitation had begun they all fastened 
their eyes upon his feet, and as a consequence the feet 
and legs showed positive signs of unrest. He covered his 
ankles and knees and made unsuccessful efforts to get the 
conspicuous feet out of sight but to no purpose. Before 
the hour was half over the learned professor could endure 
the nervous strain no longer and abruptly dismissed the 
class. Upon assembling the following day the students 
found a curtain carefully fastened with brass-headed tacks 
all around the legs of the table. 

The dilapidated condition of the students' rooms in 
University Hall rendered them uninviting, the repeated 
and crude repairs made by the college authorities inducing 
a total disregard of the ancient structure on the part of 
the students, while the carpenter's bill for repairs one year 
amounted to ^960. In each student's room was a large 
closet, one half used for coal and the other half for a 
clothes-press, and in nearly every instance there was a 



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311 



sign-board and a fish-horn tucked away in a corner. The 
most prominent thing in the room was the properly named 
" lazy cord." One end was attached to the latch on the 
door, and then the crimson cord was carried on pulleys 




Front Campus, Looking North, 1908 



along the ceiling to the centre of the room and another 
end was suspended over the desk and a third over the bed, 
another by the window and also still another near the 
wash-stand. The purpose of all this paraphernalia was to 
avoid getting up when a rap was heard on the door. The 



3 1 2 Memories of Brown 

furniture consisted of a bedroom set, generally of pine or 
ash and occasionally of walnut. Many of the rooms had 
three and four carpets — as the old one became worn a 
new one would be nailed down above the old, thus avoid- 
ing labor which the students regarded as useless. 

Many of the floors of the ancient structure were worn 
and slanted. The ceilings were cracked and the plaster 
had fallen away in many places, and, in the absence of 
whitening for an indeterminate period, became very dark, 
giving a gloomy appearance to the room. The old win- 
dows that served so many years became so rickety and 
loose that nails had to be driven in to keep them from 
rattling in the strong winds. The doors were made of 
soft pine, with frames and panels of thin material. Very 
often a student returning from recitation in a hurry would 
use his foot to enter the room. The repeated changing of 
locks for generations and the repairing of holes with new 
wood greatly disfigured the doors and gave them the ap- 
pearance of being ready for consignment to the junk heap. 
The original locks looked like large blocks of iron nailed 
on the inside of the door. The brass keys were about 
six inches long and very clumsy. This unsatisfactory 
condition continued until about i88o, when Yale locks 
were furnished for each door. The load of brass and iron 
in the shape of keys, which the servant had previously 
carried about while at work, was laid aside and he re- 
ceived what seemed to him a new dispensation. 

Each room possessed its own stove, and the students, 
during the season when fires were needed, emptied all 
their ashes upon the hall floors. Each floor carried its 
own load of ashes and as spring advanced the deposit be- 
came enormously large. It must have been through the 
aid of divine Providence that this ancient structure never 
caught fire from this source. Later, galvanized iron bar- 
rels were placed upon each floor, chained to a corner in 



Memories of Brown 



313 



the hall, to prevent the students from rolling them down 
the stairs when filled with ashes. 

University Hall did not have any water supply until 
about 1880, nor Hope College until 1885. Each student 
was supposed to provide water for himself at the old pump 




University and Slater Halls, 1908 



at the east of Hope College. When the pipes were laid 
for bringing in Pawtuxet water they terminated at the 
northeast corner of University Hall with a single outside 
faucet for the entire university. For some years the stu- 
dent body depended upon this source for supply. 

In 1879 some of the students clubbed together for the 



314 Memories of B 



rown 



purpose of securing their food at a minimum cost. To 
this end one of their number was appointed to purchase 
the food and a Mrs. Niles was employed to do the cook- 
ing. The enterprise proved a success and many of the 
students of Hmited means were benefited by it. At first 
the south end of the basement of University Hall was 
fitted up for a dining-room and kitchen, and Mrs. Niles 
soon became an expert in making johnny-cakes, which 
were greatly appreciated by the students, Mrs. Niles 
continued to cook for the students until 1883, when she 
was obliged to move on account of the renovating of 
the building. However, no time was lost in securing new 
quarters at the old parsonage on Angell street, where she 
remained until the time of the building of the new parson- 
age. 

If a student boarded in University Hall, he entered the 
basement from the south end through a well-cultivated 
garden in which there was an old-fashioned well, while near 
the door of the basement stood a cherry tree. Just beyond 
this garden stood a small brick building known among the 
students as " Sprague Hall," which cost more for repairs 
proportionally than any other building on the campus. It 
is difficult to understand why such a place was allowed 
to exist, for it was abhorred by all, and many attempts were 
made by the students to blow it up. Finally, in 1 878, it was 
demolished and a room in the north end of University Hall 
was fitted up to serve the purpose for which it was built. 
Slater Hall now stands on the site once occupied by this 
undesirable edifice. 

An old graduate with whom I was recently conversing 
referred to the following incident that happened at the 
close of chapel exercises, then held in University Hall. 
During the absence of President Wayland, that morning 
Dr. Caswell presided. At the close of the prayer and just 
as he was about to pronounce the " Amen " there was a 



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315 



terrific explosion. The crashing and sphntering of wood, 
together with the great reverberation through the halls 
caused by the explosion, at first gave the impression that 
the whole interior of the ancient structure was being vio- 
lently torn asunder. An examination showed that a bomb 




South End of Middle Campus, 1908 
Rhode Island Hall in the Centre 



of large proportions had been carefully placed against the 
chapel door and so timed that as Dr. Caswell closed his 
prayer the bomb accentuated the " Amen " in so violent a 
manner as to rupture the door and tear it completely off 
its hinges, filling the entire building with the smoke and 



316 Memories of Brown 

fumes of burning gunpowder. As Dr. Caswell departed, 
a sympathetic student gently laid his hand on the profes- 
sor's arm, deprecating such action on the part of anyone 
who could so far forget himself as wantonly to destroy 
property and bring desecration upon a religious service. 
That student was the one who placed the bomb. His 
connection with the episode remained unsuspected. 

The living rooms occupied by Mr. Douglas, the regis- 
trar and steward, at the south end of University Hall 
were nine in number, ten if we count an undesirable bed- 
room, and were of good size. The main hall of the first 
floor of the dormitory, which ran lengthwise of the build- 
ing, abruptly ended at his front door, from which a com- 
manding outlook could be had the length and breadth of 
this hybrid of dormitory, lecture-rooms, servants' quarters 
and dwelling-house, where learned professors, students, 
young children, male servants and housemaids all met in 
a most democratic fashion. Upon passing through his 
front door one entered a wide hall, of the same width as 
the hall above referred to. Upon the west side were his 
library and parlor ; upon the opposite side his sitting-room 
and bedroom. The stairs were upon this side beginning 
near the entrance. The basement stairs, upon the oppo- 
site side, led below to the dining-rooms, one for the use 
of his own family and the other for the servants. Also in 
the basement were the kitchen and laundry. 

The University Hall of this period was a place of many 
odors and noises. During the early years of Mr. Douglas's 
services as registrar he was much annoyed by some of the 
students permitting their cooking vegetables to burn to a 
cinder while absent at their recitations. In those days 
many of the young men boarded themselves, doing their 
own cooking ; thus often the building would be filled with 
the odor of scorched turnips and cabbage, which certainly 
seemed out of place in a building devoted to culture. 



Memories of Brown 



317 



The walls of University Hall must have been constructed 
of durable material in order to have withstood the many 
shocks and concussions to which they were subjected at 
midnight. The students returning from their fraternity 
meetings would keep up a continuous noise, jumping and 




East View of Hope College, 1908 



pounding on the doors with their canes, and shouting at 
the top of their voices. These thunderous concussions 
would reverberate through the long passages and soon 
everyone was wide awake, for sleep was impossible. One 
of the most effective noise makers was a large cannon-ball 



318 Memories of Brown 

that weighed about sixteen pounds. When it was set 
rolHng along the halls and came bounding down the stairs 
in the early morning, some idea can be formed of the an- 
noyance to those who occupied sleeping rooms in the 
building. No wonder the upper hall was called " Pande- 
monium." The cannon-ball was captured by President 
Caswell, and is now in the possession of Professor Clarke. 

On one occasion a large cylinder stove was left in the 
hall outside the door on the fourth floor, where several 
students found it when returning to their rooms after mid- 
night. Securing a rope and fastening one end around the 
stove, they descended the stairs dragging down the stove 
till the last fragment was left at the door of the Sears 
Reading Room. By this time everybody in the building 
was up to see what had happened, for the awful crashing 
and din caused by the stove and its mad descent down 
the stairs in the stillness of the night were most terrifying. 
Fully equal to this was the explosion of gunpowder in the 
hall and the rolling of dumbbells, boulders and iron bar- 
rels on the hall floors, which greatly disturbed those who 
were trying to sleep. These iron barrels were placed at 
each end of the hall and chained to the wall and were 
used as ash bins. Very often the locks would be broken 
and the contents scattered about the halls. The stair 
treads were made of solid oak timber and hollowed by 
more than a century of constant use, lopsided, rickety and 
difficult of ascent. They certainly presented a sorry 
aspect when strewn with cinders and ashes. 

But odor and noise were not the only annoyances for 
the residents of University Hall. In 1879 occurred the 
" Deluge." It was the custom to wash the windows of the 
building twice each year, in April and September, and 
for this purpose two large puncheons of water were placed 
in the hallway. On this particular occasion of which we 
are to speak the work began on the fourth floor in the 



Memories of Brown 3 1 9 

south end of the building, and the puncheons of water 
were placed near the head of the stairs. Soon after these 
preparations were completed the servants were called 
down stairs for a short time, and this gave an opportunity 
for mischief which was quickly improved by one of the 
students, whose room was near the head of the stairs. 
He noiselessly opened his door and seizing the puncheons 
toppled them over with their contents down the stairs, and 
then stepping quickly back into his room resumed his 
studies as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile the 
water poured down the stairs and came through the cracks 
of the ceiling in great quantities. Everyone was sur- 
prised at the sudden appearance of the flood, except the 
registrar, who at once understood the cause of the trouble. 
The water came over the side of the staircase and fell just 
outside of the door of the registrar s office in such a vol- 
ume that for a time no one could get out of the apartment. 
As soon as an opportunity came for the professors to 
leave their rooms, the servants were summoned to the of- 
fice, and a thorough investigation began. One of the of- 
ficers was instructed to proceed to the fourth floor and 
take the names of all the students found there. On arriv- 
ing in the hall there was nothing to be seen out of the 
way. The usual rap was given at the door of the guilty 
one, the " lazy cord " responded, and the officer entered, 
but found the student at his desk apparently deeply inter- 
ested in his work. After the usual morning greeting, the 
officer said that he was authorized to call and take the 
names of all the students on that floor at the time of the 
deluge, and ascertain if possible the one responsible for 
the daring act. The student said that he had heard some- 
thing going on out in the hall, but as commotions were 
common he had thought nothing more about it, being 
very much absorbed in translating several passages in 
Latin. The investigation resulted in finding out nothing, 



320 



Memories of Brown 



and the students were never brought to account for the 
deluge of 1879. 




The Old Library in Manning Hall 



The arrangement of the rooms in University Hall dif- 
fered considerably from the present day. In general 



Memories of Brown 321 

there were fourteen rooms on each floor, seven on the 
east and seven on the west side. Of the seven, six were 
dormitory rooms, three on either side of the large central 
recitation-room. 

The renovation of University Hall began in April of 
1883, when the work of altering the interior was under- 
taken and completed for the fall term, at a cost of fifty 
thousand dollars. All of the old woodwork was removed 
and new put in its place, while the brick exterior remained 
untouched. The old timber was of red oak and each end 
was laid in cement of a very hard and superior quality, so 
hard that it would resist a cold chisel. 

From the old timbers were made canes, picture-frames, 
pen-holders and rulers, also round buttons were hollowed 
out large enough to hold a picture of the building and a 
poem printed on a brown card, with an acorn suspended 
by a brown ribbon. The canes were sold for one dollar 
each at the college and mailed to any alumnus in the 
country for two dollars. Some of the picture-frames were 
handsomely carved and even sold for fifty dollars each. 
On class days for several years these souvenirs were for 
sale on the campus and hundreds were sold to alumni all 
over the country. 

The final restoration of University Hall was under- 
taken as late as 1905. In the summer of 1835 the old 
brick walls of University Hall had been covered with 
plaster and painted a dark-green color. In more recent 
years the friends of Brown longed to see it restored to 
its historic harmony of coloring. Finally through the 
generosity of Mr. Marsden J. Perry, the work of restora- 
tion began in the summer of 1905, and was completed in 
time for the opening of the college in September of the 
same year. 

No work of recent years has added so much of beauty 
and charm to the external appearance of this colonial 



322 



Memories of Brown 



building as the restoration of the old brickwork, giving 
the rich coloring which is only possessed by structures of 
ancient lineage. May the hand of vandals never again 




The Old Meeting-house 



cover up these beautiful lines by cheap stucco ! This be- 
loved building, the only reminder of the early struggles of 
the university, has now come to its own, and crowns old 
College Hill, the noblest pile of all the buildings there. 



Memories of Brown 323 

Hope College 

Hope College, erected in 1822, and hence not so old 
by half a century as University Hall, was in its early days 
in many respects inferior to the latter. In the point of 
sanitary conditions, it was very poor. It had no cellar 
until 1885, and no drainage except a small pipe leading 
from the south division. All the waste water from the in- 
side had to be carried and deposited in a large iron bowl 
in the south division. Very often during the winter sea- 
son the water would freeze in the pipes, resulting in the 
throwing of the water from the windows, leaving unsightly 
traces upon the snow, and causing complaints to be made 
to the president. The city water had not been conducted 
into any portion of Hope previous to 1885. In all the 
forty-eight rooms occupied by nearly one hundred stu- 
dents every drop of water used was brought in pitchers 
from the good old well just in the rear of the building, by 
no means a pleasant task upon a cold winter morning for 
those occupying the upper floors. 

Previous to 1879, it was customary for the students, 
each of whom operated a coal stove, to deposit their ashes 
upon the bare floor in a corner of the several halls, mak- 
ing altogether some twelve different places of deposit in 
the building. There was, as has been said, no cellar be- 
neath the building where the ashes could be carried, and 
each room possessed but two narrow closets, one for 
clothing and the other for a coal bin. The frequent pro- 
tests of the students at these unpleasant conditions finally 
resulted in steps being taken to improve the appearance 
of the halls. Large iron ash-cans chained to the wall were 
placed in each hallway. Frequently when in a hurry the 
student would throw a hod well heaped with ashes bodily 
into the receptacle, leaving a portion of the ashes in the 
can and the remainder scattered about the hall. Thus 



324 Memories of Brown 

did many of the students try in every conceivable way to 
annoy the college authorities and render their labor more 
difficult. 

The subject of coal supply brings to mind an incident 
which happened in the early eighties. Three students 
(A, B and C) engaged room i8, Hope College, and early 
in the autumn put in a supply of coal for the winter. 
Two of the young men (A and B) failed in their first ex- 
amination and left college, giving up their plans for a 
higher education. This action entailed upon their com- 
rade the entire expense of the room, which he was unable 
to meet, thereby compelling him to give up the room as 
well as to secure a purchaser for the coal. By this time 
nearly all the students had provided for their supply. It 
was well into the winter before the young man could dis- 
pose of the coal. In the meantime the students in the 
adjoining room were having a comfortable and cosy time 
in their well-heated apartment. These students were 
close friends of the young man in room i8, who was a daily 
caller in this room. His welcome was always most cordial, 
and he enjoyed to the utmost the well-heated quarters 
during those early days of winter, and often remarked 
how bright and cheerful the roaring fire appeared. Now 
the coal closets of the two rooms adjoined, being separated 
only by a light partition. The students deprecated the 
fact that so much good coal on the other side of the parti- 
tion was not serving its purpose, and decided to put it to 
a better use. Promptly, therefore, they acted by cutting 
a small opening through the partition and a most bounti- 
ful supply of coal was at their disposal. One bitterly cold 
evening in particular, Mr. C called and remarked to his 
friends, " This is a delightful fire for such a cold night." 
" Yes," replied one of them and at the same time requested 
his roommate to heap the fire still higher as their old 
friend had just come in and enjoyed the roaring blaze. 



Memories of Brown 325 

This was done so freely that the unsuspecting owner of 
the coal asked them if they were not somewhat extrava- 
gant in the use of the coal, also remarking, " Well, this is 
certainly delightful," as he stretched his arms towards the 
red hot stove. Thus day after day he unwittingly enjoyed 
the heat from his own coal. Finally, after long delay, he 
found a customer, and hastened to his former room only 
to find an empty coal bin. It did not appease his wrath 
when he realized that all the comforts he had enjoyed 
at the room of his dear friends during the cold winter 
nights were paid for by himself. 

It was at Hope College that the disturbing element lo- 
cated itself and carried on hazing to a high degree. On 
one occasion a crowd of sophomores gathered in the north 
division to haze a freshman, when he fired into the air two 
shots from a revolver for the purpose of intimidating the 
hazers. It had the desired effect ; all fled from the room. 
The sophomore nearest to the revolver thought he had 
been shot, and his classmates took him to a street lamp 
and hunted him over for bullet holes. The freshman is 
now a biologist of national fame. 

Another interesting case of hazing took place in room 
20, first floor, middle division, east side. About eighteen 
masked students called on a freshman and requested him 
to mount a table and make a speech. It was not long be- 
fore a crowd gathered about the door of the room and at- 
tracted the attention of the officers of the college. The 
registrar and a servant appeared at the door and upon be- 
ing refused admittance ordered the door forced open. 
With the aid of an axe this was accomplished. While 
the entrance was being forced, the lights were suddenly 
extinguished and all the hazers escaped through the 
windows, taking the glass and sash with them. The 
freshman was left standing on the table. The registrar 
requested him to come down, telling him that he would 



326 Memories of Brown 



furnish him with a bed for the remaining part of the 
night. The most remarkable feature of this incident is 
that all escaped identification. 

It was a well-known fact that no outsider could enter 
and leave the building without receiving some attention 
at the hands of the students that was often not agreeable. 
One of the victims who suffered most was the express- 
man. As soon as he entered the building the students 
would hasten from their rooms and loosen all the straps 
that were attached to the wagon. Only for the impertur- 
bable good nature of the honest man he would soon have 
declined to enter the building at all and left the young 
men to go to the company's office for their parcels. 

At the period when stoves were in use in Hope Col- 
lege, it was common for students to shave themselves, 
taking advantage of the stoves to heat the water. When 
in a hurry they would seize the most convenient vessel at 
hand. The old pump did not escape, but frequently had 
to give up the iron dipper that hung by its side. This 
state of affairs did not meet the approval of the students 
in general, for the students in University Hall also had 
to draw from the old pump. Finally there appeared one 
morning a very large iron dipper with the inscription cut 
upon the inside, " Presented to Brown University by 
Charles M. Sheldon," one of the young men then room- 
ing in Hope College. A few days later the dipper disap- 
peared and another one with the same inscription, but 
much smaller, was promptly put in its place, which latter 
gift also lasted but a short while. For many years the 
old pump remained under these conditions, until the class 
of 1904 presented the college with a new pump and the 
old one was removed to the Brown Union, where it will 
continue to recall memories of many interesting incidents 
connected with its long service. 

Hope College was thoroughly and extensively renovated 



Memories of Brown 327 

during the summer vacation of 1884, the alterations re- 
sulting in a great improvement over the previous un- 
pleasant conditions. 

Manning Hall 

Manning Hall was erected in 1837 and named in honor 
of Brown's first president, James Manning. It was built 
of rough, uncut flat stones gathered from the neighboring 
hillside. These were laid in plaster, which was also ap- 
plied to the exterior walls. In a recent conversation with 
an old contractor, J. H. Pierce, I learned that in 186 1 he 
removed this original coat of plaster, and picking out the 
loose stones in the walls applied "a dash coat of lime 
and sand," there being no Portland cement in the market 
at that period. It is not generally known that the lofty 
and gracefully turned Doric columns at the front are en- 
tirely constructed of brick around a hollow central core. 
The circular walls of these pillars are eight or nine inches 
thick. Mr. Pierce also at the same date executed the 
fluting upon these columns of an exceptionally hard 
plaster. 

The only method of heating Manning Hall employed 
for the first fifteen years was by means of stoves. There 
was no cellar beneath the structure until the early fifties. 
With the exception of repainting, the exterior covering of 
the walls has remained the same to the present time. Mr. 
Pierce ran counter to the mischievous prank-playing of 
the students in these repairs as well as in other work about 
the campus. His men had much difficulty in keeping his 
heavy forty-foot ladder in position, as whenever they were 
absent even for an hour the great ladder would be lowered 
to the ground. 

This noble Greek temple has been subject to many 
changes. The first in importance came in 1886, when 



328 Memories of Brown 

the three ancient furnaces, which in cold weather often 
failed to raise the temperature above fifty degrees, were 
removed and steam heat was introduced. The walls of 
the chapel at this time were of a dark and smoky hue, 
which imparted a decidedly gloomy and sombre appear- 
ance. In the centre of the platform stood an old fash- 
ioned pulpit with a green top and a rest for the Bible. 
This pulpit, which was fenced in and entered by small 
double doors swinging in, was long ago removed to give 
place to a modern desk. 

In front of the pulpit, but on the same floor as the seats, 
stood the cabinet organ. It was a Mason & Hamlin 
organ and of small size for so large a hall. The students, 
however, were justly proud of the instrument as it had re- 
markable volume and a fine tone. Contrary to the cus- 
tom nowadays, the organ was so placed that the organist 
faced the audience. The singing at the morning exer- 
cises was led by this organ up to 1889, when a much larg- 
er one was obtained. The seating arrangement was 
much the same in Manning Hall as it is now in the pres- 
ent chapel, although, of course, on a much smaller scale, 
there being only accommodation for about two hundred 
and fifty students. Each settee was numbered on the 
back, and they were placed in four rows. The freshmen 
and sophomores occupied the two outside rows and the 
juniors and seniors the two centre rows. On both the 
left and right of the pulpit seats were arranged for mem- 
bers of the faculty. At this time the professors as well 
as the students were required to attend morning prayers, 
and each professor walked out at the head of his class. 

President Robinson was the first to enter. It was in- 
teresting to see him rise to speak, for no one could help 
admiring the dignity and venerable appearance of this 
man with snow white hair, as he rose slowly, and then 
straightened himself up, thrusting one hand into his 



Memories of Brown 329 

pocket. The alumni will also recall the great regularity 
with which he did everything. One student often set his 
clock by the rising of the shades in the president's study, 
which he could plainly see from his room in University 
Hall. At the first sound of the bell President Robinson 
would open the door of his home and slowly descend the 
steps, and he would be in the pulpit before the bell 
stopped ringing, which was in three minutes. In five 
minutes from the first stroke of the bell the chapel doors 
were closed. No matter if a student had run all the way 
up College Hill and was on the last step when the door 
was closing, he dared not enter. A most disgraceful hiss- 
ing and very unpleasant disturbance arose one morning, 
when the professor of rhetoric entered the chapel im- 
mediately after the door was shut. On several occasions 
students who were late in rising would don a pair of slip- 
pers and a long dressing-gown, and in this scant attire 
rush into the chapel while the door was closing at their 
heels. 

After the renovating of University Hall in 1883, the 
president's lecture-room was removed from this structure 
to the old library-room on the lower floor in Manning 
Hall. This change was greatly appreciated by the stu- 
dents, the new room being a vast improvement over the 
old lecture-room, which was small, inconvenient and low- 
studded. The new room was supplied with sixty slender 
pine tables, seventeen inches square, having a shallow 
drawer, three by twelve inches, designed for the students' 
stationery. At the close of the lecture the students in 
their haste to leave would often push the tables and 
chairs rapidly aside, thereby causing such a commotion 
that the noise could be heard over the entire campus. 

A contractor of those days, the Mr. Pierce previously 
referred to, still living at an advanced age, clearly recalls 
an incident that Mr. Elliot, the college steward, related 



330 Memories of Brown 

in the forties. A well-known lecturer was to speak 
in the chapel. The steward with the assistance of the 
servants collected all the chairs and benches, placing 
them in order the evening previous. Securely locking 
the door he retired for the night. Being somewhat wake- 
ful he arose soon after midnight, thinking he would in- 
spect the lecture-room. What was his amazement to find 
the chapel empty of all chairs and benches, and absolute 
stillness prevailing. He at once awakened the servants 
and began a thorough search for the missing chairs. 
Finally, towards morning, they were discovered in a 
swamp near Thayer street. Upon returning the chairs 
to the chapel, Mr. Elliot remained upon guard in the 
room until the usual exercises of the day began. At the 
close of the steward's long service at Brown, a well-known 
educator called upon him and speaking of this incident 
stated that he was one of the boys that took an active 
part in this affair. The educator later became president 
of a college. 

Rhode Island Hall 

Rhode Island Hah, erected in 1840, was one of the 
prominent buildings in the seventies. Among the famil- 
iar faces to be seen there were those of Professors Jenks, 
Parsons, Greene, Blake and John Peirce. At almost any 
time of the day or night, one of these men could be found 
at work in his particular department. 

Professor Blake occupied a private room in Rhode Is- 
land Hall, where he conducted a great part of his experi- 
ments and researches in physics. Here he was wont to 
meet those students particularly interested in the scien- 
tific work of his department. He would devote hours at 
a time to this work with the students, who came to look 
upon their teacher with a great deal of affection. There 



Memories of Brown 331 

was not a man upon the entire teaching force of the col- 
lege who devoted his time more assiduously to the devel- 
opment of his particular department than Professor 
Blake. His aim was not simply to teach the class phys- 
ics, but to improve, if possible, every scientific instrument 
employed to impart that knowledge. He was by no 
means satisfied with the best, as it then existed, but was 
constantly seeking to add improvements or else to design 
entirely independent apparatus. This very arduous 
labor was carried on in Rhode Island Hall from early in 
the morning until far in the night. There in his labora- 
tory he could be found at almost any hour, outside' of his 
classroom work, designing new apparatus and improving 
instruments of precision for teaching purposes, as well as 
for physical investigation. He possessed preeminent me- 
chanical ability as well as inventive genius to a high de- 
gree. It has been profoundly regretted by his intimate 
associates that his routine work of the classroom so oc- 
cupied his time as to preclude that development of the 
spirit of invention which he markedly showed in at least 
two directions, certain important discoveries in photog- 
raphy, also in the improvement of the telephone. 

The walls of the museum at this period were almost en- 
tirely covered by portraits done in oil of many well-known 
benefactors of the college and of the older professors, as 
well as of men and women who have become eminent in 
other spheres of usefulness. This well-known collection 
of portraits was being constantly added to by gift, so that 
the walls became greatly crowded and the paintings were 
seen at much disadvantage. It was thought best not to 
divide the collection and distribute it among the different 
buildings, since that would detract much from its interest 
and value. This difficulty was solved by the erection of 
Sayles Memorial Hall, and this extremely valuable col- 
lection was soon transferred to the new location. 



332 Memories of Brown 

Professor Jenks came to Brown University in 1874 as 
director of the museum of natural history. Entering up- 
on his work with much energy and enthusiasm, he soon 
gathered a multitude of objects, both curious and instruc- 
tive. He used the southwest corner of the basement as a 
dissecting-room, and the walls were well covered with all 
kinds of serpents, lizards, toads and strange reptiles. 
One of the most difficult specimens to prepare was a 
large sea turtle caught in Buzzards Bay in 1881. It 
weighed about one hundred pounds, but its weight was 
not to be compared to the strength of the odor which 
arose while the professor was preparing it for final exhi- 
bition. After it had received the proper treatment it was 
kept in alcohol for more than a year, and then taken to 
the attic. This attic was so low-studded that an ordinary 
man could not stand erect, and there were no windows 
and no means of ventilation except by opening the scut- 
tle. The greatest wonder was how the professor could 
work for hours in this confined place with the utmost in- 
difference to the foul atmosphere. Only a naturalist can 
understand and fully appreciate the disagreeableness of 
the task. He continued at his labors, disregarding the 
dampness of his room in the basement, which finally 
caused him to lose the control of his feet, and for several 
months he was unable to walk. 

Professor Jenks could be seen at the museum at any 
season of the year except while he was abroad collecting 
specimens for it. Often when visitors entered the room 
and became interested in some object, suddenly there 
would arise a loud voice from across the room, and look- 
ing around they would see a venerable old man with a 
long beard as white as snow, having on his head a small 
cap ornamented with blue trimming. In a pleasant and 
interesting manner he would explain all about the speci- 
men, where it existed and how it was secured for the mu- 



Memories of Brown 333 

seum. When Professor Jenks was a boy of sixteen he 
began to keep a diary and became most methodical and 
dihgent in the entering of every detail of a life filled with 
boundless activities and daily research. This labor con- 
tinued without interruption during the remainder of his 
long life and ended only a few weeks previous to his 
death in September, 1894, at an advanced age. The man- 
uscript of this diary is most voluminous, comprising over 
half a million words. It was divided into two general di- 
visions — the larger portion his " Biography," and the 
smaller entitled " The Journeys." During the summer 
of 1894 he engaged me to make six typewritten copies of 
the manuscript. The typewritten copy was never to be 
printed, and was to be adorned throughout with beautiful 
illustrations gathered at intervals during his long life from 
widely separated places. Each volume consisted of one 
hundred leaves. As rapidly as a volume was completed 
I carried the sheets to Professor Jenks for any additions 
or corrections he might desire. I very clearly recall the 
great pleasure and elation he manifested upon the com- 
pletion of each volume. His death occurred before the 
entire task was finished. When I called upon him at his 
room on College street only a few hours before his death, 
his mind being still active and clear, he remarked, as if 
foreseeing what was very soon to occur, " If I should be 
called suddenly to my heavenly home, my son will carry 
out my plan." He then made out his check and paid me 
for my services, this act being his last business transac- 
tion. Soon after he passed away. His wish as to the 
final completion of the work was sacredly regarded and 
fulfilled by his son, Elisha T. Jenks. Upon completion 
the " Biography " comprised nine volumes and " The 
Journeys" six volumes, a total of fifteen hundred type- 
written pages. 

Anthony McCabe. 




The C^sar Augustus Statue 
Given to the University by M. B. I. Goddard, 1854 



Memories of Brown 335 



Brilliant Seventy-eight 



THE second division of '78 was as formidable an 
aggregation as ever broke a college law or 
stampeded a classroom. It resolved with 
singleness of heart that it could and would 
do something, in its feeble way, to broaden the minds 
of the professors; that instead of the second division 
seeking to stand well in the esteem of the professors, 
it should be that the peace of mind and the pleasant- 
ness of a professor's well-being should depend upon his 
good standing with the second division, and that all the 
jokes and pleasantries must be supplied by the second di- 
vision ! It was resolved that all jokes emanating from a 
professor should be received with unsmiling solemnity. 
Two or three of the timid and flunky type broke the 
compact and laughed at a professorial pleasantry, but 
they were duly impressed that should they do so again it 
would mean an interruption of their good health. 

" Tim " was slow to recognize the changed order, and 
could not comprehend the berserker spirit ; his best joke 
had been received with a groan, and his enlightenment 
began when one of the leading spirits arose to recite, and 
parodied one of the professor's most elaborated and 
polished periods on the glory of the Elizabethan age ; the 
division broke into prolonged and hilarious approval ! 
" There," exclaimed Tim, " you have spoiled that, and I 
will have to change it ! " But such truculence could not 
go unpunished ! The professor had it in for him and 
thought his time had come when he placed upon the 



336 Memories of Brown 

blackboard a sentence from his essay as follows : " Out- 
stripping Egyptian Cleopatra in the prodigality of her 
display, Queen Catherine strewed her foot-mat with 
pearls." The sentence proved a puzzler to the division ; 
various criticisms were offered, but none touched the 
fault. When at last none seemed likely to detect the 
blunder, the professor exclaimed, " Why, I am surprised 
that not one of you does not see that it is a comparison of 
indelicate suggestion ; the word ' outstripping ' used with 
reference to two ladies." " Oh-oh-oh-ah-ah " groaned the 
division, whereupon the author of the sentence innocently 
remarked, " Professor, I suppose the writer went upon the 
theory that ' to the pure all things are pure ! ' " The pro- 
fessor opened his mouth to reply, but the second division 
had broken into pandemonium ! 

As everyone knows, the class of '78 was the most bril- 
liant and victorious that ever stirred the classic shades of 
old Brown. " Zeke " was at the zenith of his white fame 
and imperial rule. " Grif," the sweet songster from the 
old Granite State, had withdrawn his luminous splendor 
from 'yj to add one more inimitable glint to the peerless 
glory of '78. He had been visited in the "witching hour 
of night " by some friends, who burst his door open 
and deluged him in bed with successive pails of cold 
pump-water. " Griff " had laid his excelsior mattress on 
the tar-walk in the rear of Hope College to dry. Just at 
the quiet-colored edge of eve, " Possum," he of the " seal- 
skin poll," carelessly spilled a can of Standard oil on the 
dried mattress, when " Ikie," the "moon-faced darling of 
us all," dropped a lighted match thereon. Presto ! Flame, 
leaping to the very stars ! Up went the windows in the 
rear of old Hope ! Out went such a cry of " Fire ! Fire ! " 
multitudinous and unanimous, plural and vociferous, as 
shattered the placidly flowing Seekonk a mile away. 
Prex stood just under the window of one whose voice 



Memories of Brown 337 

boomed in stately thunder, calling on all the pagan divini- 
ties and otherwise to witness such an excellent fire ! His 
remarks were eloquent, of timbre unexcelled and of sur- 
passing carrying quality ! 

The next morning, a shame-faced and trembling com- 
pany met Prex in the office ; some stood pale and awed 
before the terrible aspect of Jovian wrath. 

Prex. " Mr. L., what had you to do with that disgrace- 
ful disturbance last night ? " 

L. " I stuck my head out of the window and yelled, 
sir." 

Prex. "Yelled, did you?" 

L. " Yes, sir; lustily ! " (There was a sign of the mar- 
ble wrath of Jove breaking into a grim smile.) 

Prex. " Didn't you know, sir, that you were breaking 
the laws of the college besides disturbing the whole neigh- 
borhood for miles around ? " 

L. " No, sir ; I just stuck my head out and yelled to ex- 
ercise my voice ! " 

Prex. " Don't let this occur again, gentlemen ; and, Mr. 
L., the next time you feel like exercising your voice, I 
would advise you to go to the Seekonk, sir ! You are ex- 
cused." 

Charles H. Pendleton^ iSyS. 




John Carter Brown Library 



Memories of Brown 339 



Marrying Before Graduation 



OUR excellent and beloved Dr. Clarke may recall 
an incident in the mathematical-room when he 
put a problem something like this before the 
freshmen of '78 : " How many inches must be 
worn from a new grindstone before it is half worn out ? " 
No freshman seemed to apprehend what was required to 
bring the answer. One remarked, "The first wear is 
the best." All laughed and the professor said, " If your 
mathematics proves as good as your wit, you will get on." 
After class the freshman had the grace to apologize to 
the professor and to tell him that he knew of no rule to 
work that problem by. He was indulgently forgiven. 

In Manning Hall one morning when '78 assembled to 
listen to junior orations, Professor T. Whiting Bancroft — 
of pleasant memory — listened in dumbfounded astonish- 
ment to the oration of one who is now a successful phy- 
sician in the old Bay state, while with the utmost solem- 
nity the junior recited one whole chapter of Professor 
Bancroft's classroom lectures on " Cardinal Wolsey." A 
visitor would not have thought he was attending a chapel 
exercise if he had witnessed the scene that followed the 
junior's bow. It was some minutes before the professor 
had the floor. The junior seemed not to have produced 
much solemnity excepting in the professor. 

I was older than most of the boys, and decided in June, 
'75, to marry. Dire things were prophesied if I did, and 
the registrar, Mr. Douglas, was questioned in the matter 
of college laws. No law to prevent being found, I 



340 



Memories of Brown 



launched my matrimonial bark upon the beckoning sea. 
I was preaching at Oaklawn and took up my residence 
there. Alexander also married before the autumn term. 
When he appeared as a sophomore, he thought that the 
authorities had played a joke on him in enacting a law at 
the June meeting after my marriage, that any under- 
graduate who should marry would thereby sever his con- 
nection with the college. Alexander had a bad half day. 
When he later found that the registrar had neglected to 
post the law until the autumn opening, he laughed at the 
ex post facto legislation, and went on with his studies. 
He thought the joke was on the faculty. Alexander and 
I both graduated with an A. B. in 1878. 

William P. Bartlett, 1878. 




College Servants, 1881 



Memories of Brown 341 



Devolution of the Bonfire 




one important particular bonfires present a 
direct antithesis to poets, for bonfires are 
always made. We have, of course, all heard 
suggestions of spontaneous combustion, but 
they invariably emanated from the brains of 
students, and these generally not the most 
studious of the class. These theories never received the 
sanction of the college authorities. 

It is a far call from the bonfire of old, which, whatever 
its raison d'etre, was not without a certain rude, barbaric 
dignity, as well as a spice of danger to its originators, to 
the emasculated, specially permitted fire of today. The 
latter, indeed, is only a travesty on the original, and gives 
delight to none. 

As it was our privilege to see the bonfire at the height 
of its glory, when proved participation spelled expulsion, 
it is now our pleasure to trace its gradual devolution, and 
to show how, at one time, the students, at another, the 
authorities, have been found arrayed upon the side of 
law and order, and the conservation of property. 

In the olden time bonfires were sporadic and broke out 
when some special occasion imperatively demanded them, 
or when some hilarious spirits could no longer resist the 
ebullitions of the rude primeval instinct within them. 
They were characterized by a wanton destruction of 
property in the shape of fences, gates, building materials 
from houses in the course of erection, in fact anything 
combustible within reach. They were accompanied by a 



342 Memories of Brown 

veritable pandemonium of yells and were participated in 
by the entire student-body in residence. The college 
authorities, too, took an active part, though it must be 
confessed that their efforts were generally obstructive. 
More than once the old volunteer fire department turned 
out with their hand-tubs and dragged them up College 
Hill, intent on extinguishing a supposed residential fire. 
While they hustled about scattering the bonfire upon one 
side, the boys built it up upon the other. So sharp did 
the conflict become on some occasions that it is a miracle 
that the dormitories escaped a wetting-down at the hands 
of the fire-laddies. 

Building operations were looked upon with favor by 
the boys, who saw in them not merely a fertile source of 
materials for bonfires, but also a sure supply of firewood 
for the stoves with which each room was formerly warmed. 
Who of us has not returned from supper carrying a bundle 
of laths or a window-frame destined for his bodily comfort ? 
We well remember the occasion when, some of these ma- 
terials proving refractory, their adopted owners returned 
to the building and borrowed a saw from the carpenter's 
kit for their more ready demolition. Pocket money was 
scarce, it was necessary to be warm in order to study, and 
" Necessity knows no law." 

It was reserved for our class, the class of '79, to evince 
the first signs of law-abiding respect for property, and, sad 
to relate, our efforts were not appreciated and the presi- 
dent unconsciously took his stand upon the side of dis- 
order. 

Early in January, '76, it was decided that it was incum- 
bent upon us to have a bonfire and the function was ar- 
ranged precisely upon the lines of the faculty-conducted 
bonfires of today. Thus early in their career did the 
class of '79 show the stamp of progress. A committee 
was appointed to purchase tar-barrels and arrange for 



Memories of Brown 343 

their transfer to the college campus, exactly as is now 
done. Billy Ely, to whom fell the honor (?) of attending 
to the business, bought the materials and engaged a 
trusty expressman. It was arranged that Malcom, another 
of the committee, should meet the teamster at a certain 
time and place. George's devotion to his studies led him 
to overlook the appointment and a different expressman 
had to be employed at the eleventh hour. This proved 
William's undoing, as will be seen anon. 

The fire came off according to schedule and was parti- 
cipated in by the president and Billy Dug as well as the 
whole student-body. 

The next morning, bright and early, the president hied 
him to the old depot, sought out the expressman and, for a 
consideration, induced him to call at the office on the hill 
and point out the guilty purveyor of inflammables. So 
Billy Ely got into trouble and was awarded a vacation not 
down in the catalogue on his contumaciously refusing to 
reveal the names of all those concerned with him. He 
was also reproached somewhat acrimoniously with having 
purloined the tar-barrels from a contractor on Aborn 
street. The president was exceeding the speed limit just 
then and had to slow down when William proposed a 
visit to Chambers & Calder's store to settle the ques- 
tion. 

A day or two later the president announced in chapel 
that "unless those who were concerned with Mr. Ely 
came to him voluntarily he would be obliged to summon 
them, in which case Mr. Ely's sentence might be changed 
to expulsion." Actuated by the conscientious regard for 
the good of others which ever characterized our class, 
Malcom and Eddy decided to go to the office. It so hap- 
pened that their fathers were known and held in respect 
by the president. Hence the young men were graciously 
received and asked to take a seat and inquiry was made 



344 Memories of Brown 

as to the object of their visit. Confession under such cir- 
cumstances became a painful duty. Unfortunately the 
story leaked out and they had to endure the gibes of their 
fellows. Still " the confessors " had the mens conscia recti 
to sustain them. 

In the fall of '76 bonfires for the first time became epi- 
demic and it was all due to the president's initiative. 
The class of '80, then freshmen, were always meek and 
lowly, and fires, but for the president's instigation, would 
have fallen into innocuous desuetude. 

The term was several weeks old when President Rob- 
inson announced in chapel that " there would be no bon- 
fires that year and any man found making one would be 
expelled." This language seemed too bold and arrogant 
to some of his hearers and it was decided to give the 
freshmen one week to take up the gauntlet, failing which 
the sophomoric dignity would so far unbend as to permit 
of its being lifted. 

The freshmen proved unreliable. It was, therefore, re- 
solved by the committee that there should be one fire a 
week until further notice. Even in this instance, though 
spurred on to wrong-doing by the president, the class 
showed its regard for the rights of property as well as a 
budding perception of the necessity of safeguarding the 
community by removing dangerous collections of inflam- 
mable material. For well-nigh a century there had been 
accumulating in the attic of Hope College a mass of de- 
crepit and worn-out furniture, packing boxes and papers, 
which was a menace to the building. It was decided to 
utilize these. On the plea of footballs upon the roof the 
key of the attic was kept throughout the fall in the room 
of one of the committee. Without ostentation the selected 
material was removed to the room of the committeman, 
anointed with kerosene and conveyed to the campus 
quite near the rear door of the middle division so as not 



Memories of Brown 345 

to disturb too seriously Wayland Douglas, the assistant 
registrar, and the rest of the denizens of University Hall. 
The match was then applied. Thus was combined a 
minimum of labor with a maximum of safety. 

The fires came off very auspiciously. After one or two 
weeks the president inaugurated the salutary custom of 
having two of the " slaves " on watch each night, thus se- 
curing them good rest on the alternate days. Anthony 
McCabe, or Antonius Maccabeus the " Last of the Mac- 
cabees," as Robert Burbank called him, and Graham kept 
one watch. This was a very convenient arrangement. 
We recall one beautiful moonlight night when certain 
hilarious spirits arrived on the campus at about i A. M. 
and decided to have athletic sports. The three-legged 
race was about to be started when Anthony and Graham 
appeared. They were at once pounced upon and posted 
upon opposite sides of the course as umpires. Wayland 
Douglas arrived a few moments later and was hailed with 
acclamations as referee. He was posted conveniently and 
the sports went on. 

This, however, is a digression. To return to the epi- 
demic. Each week produced its fire, and the committee 
noted, with satisfaction, the steadily diminishing pile of 
rubbish in the attic. Each week, too, the kerosene spot 
on the carpet of the committeeman waxed broader and 
stronger, and an unbroken trail extended from his door 
to the campus. " Tute " Davis at that time roomed in the 
middle division, and no earthly power could, under ordi- 
nary conditions, have prevented detection, as eyes and 
olfactories were assaulted each time he trod that trail. 
Fortunately for us, the professor's attention was at that 
time firmly concentrated on his approaching nuptials to 
the exclusion of all lesser interests. So, with an eye 
single unto matrimony, he went his way, oblivious of all 
about him, and the committee labored on in- peace. 



346 Memories of Brow7t 

In due time the climax came. It had by this time be- 
come prudent to locate the pyre almost upon the door- 
steps, and at once retire within the hall after applying the 
match. Though laboring for the common good, the com- 
mittee did not court publicity. There came a Friday 
night when an old " sink," a legless lounge and certain 
packing-boxes filled with papers were condemned as too 
inflammable for the attic. The kerosene inunction was 
particularly enthusiastic and wasteful. Everything was 
conveyed to the concrete walk about eight feet from the 
door, and the match applied. For greater privacy it was 
deemed wise to bar the backdoor of each division. The 
building was in darkness, but no sooner did the flames 
ascend than every window had its head or heads, and 
from each emanated a mighty voice. Stillman roomed 
in University Hall but he was the possessor of a brace of 
horse-pistols with appropriate ammunition and it was his 
pleasure to hunt up someone who would borrow and 
agree to use them. This lent an additional spice. 
Wayland Douglas and the slaves soon appeared, and 
Kennedy, the policeman, with them. They were greeted 
with a perfect fusillade of coal and other movables. Slop- 
buckets rained their contents down upon them and the 
horse-pistols barked incessantly. The flames mounted 
triumphantly. Ye Gods ! that was a fire. 

The committee had accomplished its self-appointed 
task. It had demonstrated that "prohibition does not 
prohibit " and that bonfires do not necessarily involve the 
destruction of valuable property. The members rested 
from their labors and turned their attention to a series of 
cane-rushes which were just then inaugurated. 

Their efforts were not unrewarded, for, before the rushes 
were through with, they had been fittingly recognized 
and given a special vacation to be enjoyed away from the 
college campus. The story of these happenings is told 



Mem 



ones 0, 



B 



rown 



347 



elsewhere by my friend Marsh, who would appear to have 
a guilty knowledge of the matters of which he writes. 

Furthermore, the president had learned a lesson, and 
the devolution of the bonfire had made mighty progress. 
Sporadic fires, according to the old regime, have occa- 
sionally occurred, but they have been perfunctory and not 
accompanied by the old-time zest. Gradually, even these 
have died out. 

It is not known that the corporation have ever speci- 
fically voted a bonfire ; but it is an established fact that 
when the occasion seems to them to call for it, the presi- 
dent and dean hold a confab, select the date and spot for 
the conflagration, appoint a committee of quiet and trusty 
students, furnish them with materials, notify the under- 
graduates to be ready to assemble, and the farce is en- 
acted. It takes a shirt-tail parade to make it go. 

O Bonfire ! thy glory hath departed. Thou art be- 
come but an echo and a memory of the past. 

Walter Lee Mttnro, iS'jg. 




College Servants, H 



348 Memories of Brown 



Dimanesque 



THE following anecdotes of Professor Diman are 
too good to be lost. 
The class of '80 were seated in the south 
room in Rhode Island Hall. Professor Diman, 
as his custom was, sat behind the desk, revolving a pen- 
cil in his hand, tapping alternately with either end, while 
his gaze was attentively fixed upon the farther end of 
Magee street. 

Mr. X, being called upon for the " substance of the pre- 
ceding lecture," rose to his feet with his head inclined 
forward, in what was then his customary round-shouldered 
attitude, and proceeded very glibly for one or two min- 
utes, when he suddenly came to a dead halt. 

Professor Diman continued calmly twiddling the pen- 
cil with his far-away Magee-street look. 

The silence became oppressive until the professor, 
without changing his position or his point of view, bland- 
ly remarked, "Will one of the gentlemen on either side 
of Mr. X kindly turn that page for him ? " 

At the faculty meeting a few days later. Professor Di- 
man inquired whether any of the gentlemen had had any 
particular experiences with Mr. X of the class of '80. 

No one volunteering anything, he was called upon for 
an explanation, when he related the preceding incident, 
adding in conclusion, " When I passed from the room at 
the close of the hour, Mr. X was .without, cursing prodi- 
giously. 



Memories of Brown 349 

Professor Diman was always courteous and dignified, 
but occasionally incurred the criticism of the students for 
adhering to the old-time constitutional right of a college 
professor to pass an undergraduate without recognition, 
even though he was himself saluted with proper respect. 

One spring morning in '76 the usual group of students 
had gathered about the rear steps of Manning Hall, await- 
ing the chapel bell, when Professor Diman was seen en- 
tering the path which then led diagonally from the cor- 
ner of Brown street, across what is now the middle cam- 
pus, to Manning Hall. 

One of the seniors called attention to him by saying, 
" There comes Jerry, large as life ; wouldn't recognize 
you if his fortune depended on it." " Bet you fifty cents," 
said one of his classmates, " that he will touch his hat to 
me. 

The bet was at once taken and the senior started to- 
ward the professor. When they met he raised his hat 
in an embarassed way and, clumsily turning out in the 
wrong direction, almost collided with the unconscious pro- 
fessor, who, with an annoyed look, turned to the opposite 
side only to find the student once more plumping against 
him. 

The look of annoyance gave way to one of amusement 
and, smilingly raising his hat, " Jerry " passed him by and 
repaired to the chapel, while the senior, now free from 
embarassment, returned to collect his half-dollar. 

Walter Lee Munro, iSyg. 




350 Memories of Brown 

Seventy-nine's Page of History 

HE class of 1879 was few in numbers, grad- 
uating only 47 men, but it possessed a 
notable class spirit. President Faunce re- 
marked, at the great gathering of Brown 
alumni at Boston in March, 1908, that 
nowadays the subject of bonfires was left 
to the students, and a committee had the 
matter in charge and were held responsi- 
ble for results. It was so in the days (or rather nights) 
of '79, and none of the faculty was ever heard to complain 
that the class committee did not perform their duties 
faithfully and industriously. True, the personnel of the 
committee was not then known to the faculty, but this 
was due to the modesty which distinguished the class. 
They loved to perform good deeds without publicity, con- 
scious that virtue was its own reward. So in the matter 
of cane rushes. They did not seek glory, neither did 
they shrink if it was thrust upon them ; but in either case, 
whatever their hands found to do, they did it with their 
might. 

In their sophomore year they were confronted with a 
class of freshmen which greatly outnumbered them. The 
rivalry between the classes was intense. The great an- 
nual freshman-sophomore contest, that of football, which 
was nothing but a prolonged rush, or series of rushes, was 
won by '79, but '80 won the baseball game. A cane rush 
between the freshmen and sophomores was then an es- 
tablished institution, and one Saturday evening, late in 



Memories of Brown 351 

the fall of 1876, the class of '80 appeared with a cane on 
the back campus, stripped for the fray. As but few of the 
sophomores were on hand that evening, no attempt was 
made to deprive the youngsters of their precious stick, 
and after parading the campus for a time they departed 
unmolested, with derisive yells and groans for the sopho- 
mores, and triumphant cheers for themselves. They had 
the cane sawed into small transverse sections, and ap- 
peared Monday morning, at chapel, wearing these as pins, 
in token of their bloodless victory. This sight acted 
upon the sophomores like the traditional red rag upon 
the inflamed bull. After leaving chapel and on the way 
to recitations, a freshie adorned with one of the obnox- 
ious pins was seized by a sophomore ; reinforcements ral- 
lied to the aid of each, and soon practically the entire 
strength of both classes was enlisted, and the melee be- 
came general. By all the gods of misrule, that was a bat- 
tle royal! Clothing was ripped, torn, demolished. Books 
and other implements of learning strewed the scene of 
combat, and blood was shed freely by either side in de- 
fense of their sacred honors. The struggling mass moved 
between the buildings to the back (now middle) campus 
and across it, presenting to the eyes of the justly exasper- 
ated faculty their young men, who should have been in 
their several recitation-rooms listening to words of wis- 
dom and displaying their own learning or ignorance, in 
a squirming pile of perhaps the size of a haystack, oblivi- 
ous to everything except the capture or retention of those 
symbolic pins. Some members of the faculty, supported 
by the registrar, William Douglas, known to the student 
body then as " Billy Dug," moved rapidly to the field of 
carnage. The faculty militant entered the fray with zest 
and energy. Freshmen and sophomores were pulled 
from the heap by the legs, arms or head. Many fled, 
awed by the sight of the powers that were, till finally only 



352 Memories of Brown 

two were left, the sophomore who opened hostihties, and 
under him the freshman who invited them, breathless and 
pinless. 

Of course, such a breach of college decorum as this 
could not be overlooked by President Robinson, and five 
of the sophomores were suspended, one of whom was al- 
most immediately reinstated, the reason for the latter ac- 
tion not being stated and never being clearly understood 
by the students. None of the freshmen were punished, 
but the four suspended sophomores were banished from 
the college grounds for three weeks. One resided in the 
city. The other three retired to a well and not favorably 
known resort on Angell street, yclept the " Beanery," the 
ostensible raison d'etre of which was the satisfaction of 
the undergraduate appetite, but, not being of much use 
in that respect, the real purposes and objects of its pro- 
prietor can only be conjectured. They did not pass the 
period of their exile in sinful luxury. By a combination 
of their resources they were able to lease a room in the 
aforesaid boarding house (and that not the bridal cham- 
ber), having among its appointments one bed and a stove, 
and were permitted to furnish firewood or do without 
heat, as they chose. The days they whiled away with 
cards and textbooks and other light reading, and in the 
evenings they prowled around the new library building, 
which was then in course of erection, gathering up un- 
considered trifles among the debris suitable for fuel, and 
toiling painfully down the hill with them. Owing to the 
limited sleeping accommodations, a rule was adopted that 
the last one in at night must sleep on the floor, which 
tended to promote early hours. Needless to say, the 
suspended four considered themselves no more nor less 
guilty than the other participants, and their spirits were 
light, for were they not suffering martyrdom in a holy 
cause .? 



Memories of Brown 353 

In the meantime the unsuspended portion of the class 
of '79 held an indignation meeting, the general sentiment 
of which was that they were as guilty as those who had 
been selected for punishment, and a committee was ap- 
pointed to call upon the president. The committee ac 
cordingly called and informed the president that the de- 
sire of the class was that the suspended members be re- 
instated, or the class be suspended as a body. To this 
the president responded grimly that any who felt guilty 
might go, but in that case they might take one last, fond 
farewell of college life at Brown, as they would not be al- 
lowed to return. Another meeting was held to listen to 
the report of the committee, which was considered most 
unsatisfactory, and it was unanimously decided not to ac- 
cept the president's proposition. The committee was in- 
structed to return to the president and inform him that 
unless the suspended men were reinstated the remainder 
of the class would suspend themselves ; in other words, 
would bolt. To this the president replied that in that 
case those already suspended, as well as the bolters, would 
be expelled. This last threat overawed the class, and 
after some more meeting and resolving they gradually 
subsided. 

A college disturbance of this sort, accompanied by such 
serious disagreement between students and president, is 
of rare occurrence at Brown, and, I believe, has been un- 
known since that time. It would, perhaps, hardly be 
worth recalling at this late day if it were not for the noto- 
riety which the affair attained at the time, and for the 
fact that the sophomore class, or some member or mem- 
bers of it, wrote and caused to be printed and circulated 
a pamphlet setting forth their side of the case, entitled, 
"A Page of History, Being a True and Unvarnished 
Statement of Facts Which We Commend to the Careful 
Attention of All." The disturbances in the first place. 



354 Memories of Brown 

and then the phamphlet, were widely commented upon in 
Eastern papers, either editorially or in their news columns, 
the New York Tribune in particular publishing an edito- 
rial of about a column in length on the pamphlet entitled, 
"Student and President," and the vociferations of the 
sophomores were even wafted across the Atlantic and oc- 
casioned editorial comment in the London News. It is 
needless to say that these editorials were carefully trans- 
mitted to the president. The pamphlet purported to be 
a judicial statement of facts with impartial comment 
thereon, but in reality it was a partisan document, nar- 
rating the occurrences from the sophomoric standpoint, 
and bearing down heavily upon the president, who was 
charged with favoritism, intimidation, tyranny and a care- 
less handling of the truth. The pamphlet was issued 
anonymously, and the author or authors have never to 
this day come forward to claim the credit of their per- 
formance. It was a crude and jejune composition, but 
still of some interest as a typical sophomoric production, 
and as showing the sophomoric literary style and reason- 
ing processes. As such it reflected little credit upon the 
lamented Professor Bancroft, the well-known professor of 
rhetoric at the time, but probably the sophomores had 
not then had the benefit of his instruction for a sufficient 
period to enable them to grasp the principles of a lucid, 
polished, logical and convincing narrative and argumen- 
tative style. It was evidently written while the author 
was smarting under a burning sense of injustice, and is, 
perhaps, about the sort of document which the Russian 
Nihilists are writing nowadays anent the Czar and his 
government, if one of the latter could be translated into 
sophomoric English. It closed with an appeal to the 
" corporation and board of trustees " to investigate the 
president's conduct, and intimated that " if the dignitaries 
to whom these last words are addressed should think best 



Memories of Brown 355 

to remove the president to other fields of labor, we can 
assure them that none of the students will pine away 
through grief for the absent one, and that their mourning 
for the departed will in no wise interfere with their 
studies." 

Strange to say, the "dignitaries" remained unmoved 
by this appeal, and, if they investigated, such fact was not 
made public- Certainly the president was not removed. 
If he quailed at this onslaught, no outward signs of it 
were visible, any more than when he was confronted with 
the threatened class bolt. For a man exposed to obloquy 
as being guilty of the various kinds of malfeasance men- 
tioned in the pamphlet, he preserved a singularly calm 
and unruffled exterior. Either he was so hardened as to 
be impervious to shame and remorse, or else he was actu- 
ally so benighted as to imagine that he was justified in 
the measures he took to preserve the peace and discipline 
of the student-body under his jurisdiction. But if he 
really was deluded to that extent, it was not the fault of 
the sophomores. No one can say that they failed to call 
his attention to the enormity of his conduct. 

Looking back now at these occurrences, through the 
perspective of more than thirty years, it occurs to the 
writer that possibly something might be said in behalf of 
the president and his disciplinary measures which he 
never troubled himself to say. For he made no defence, 
or even answer, to the indictment of the sophomores. 

Edward S. Marsh, iSyg. 



356 Memories of Brown 



Reminiscences by President Faunce 



THE greatest excitements in college life — as 
often outside of college — are usually over the 
smallest issues. The greatest crime of which a 
student could be guilty in my undergraduate 
days was the wholly fictitious crime of building a bonfire 
on the campus ; and the supreme demonstration of the 
power and majesty of the administration was to succeed in 
putting out the aforesaid bonfire. To prepare that bonfire 
undiscovered in the darkness required more ingenuity 
and statesmanship than any course in the curriculum, and 
to squelch it demanded all the resources of Douglas, the 
steward, and all the agility of the swift-footed President 
Robinson. 

Curiously enough, our awful reverence for Dr. Robin- 
son was not lessened by his frequent sprinting across the 
campus in the evening to catch unwary offenders. There 
was something majestic, even Olympian, in the long 
stride and flying silvery hair, when seen in the moonlight, 
and in his tight grasp on a sophomore's coat collar there 
was the relentless vigor of sixty years of Calvinism. I re- 
call especially one evening, when freshmen and sopho- 
mores were struggling over a cane in front of Hope Col- 
lege on a January night. It was a silent battle, save for 
the crackling and grinding of the crust of the snow. 
Suddenly there was a warning sound from a window. 
Then we caught sight of a silk hat and the long coat-tails 
moving through the shadow of Manning Hall. The dim 
figure dashed out into the moonlight and gripped our col- 



Memories of Brown 357 

lars. " Call at my office tomorrow morning ! " Burdette — 
since then a devoted missionary in Assam — was sus- 
pended. Goodspeed — later a distinguished professor in 
the University of Chicago — was cross-examined and 
barely cleared. A dozen others were rusticated for two 
weeks. Would that all crimes were equally harmless, 
and all penalties as pleasant to remember ! 

The most serious midnight occurrence I recollect was 

the blowing up of S Hall by the explosion of a bomb. 

To the initiated, no description of the architecture and 
appearance of that venerable structure is needed ; and to 
the uninitiated, no description would be held credible. 
Suffice it to say that the ancient relic was wrecked and 
all good men approved the deed. Vandalism is always to 
be rebuked ; but in that case it was vandalism to preserve 
and righteousness to destroy. 

My college chum for two years was Richmond, the 
famous left-handed pitcher. It had been rumored that he 
could pitch a curved ball so that if it were sent between 
upright posts it would go to the right of the first post, to 
the left of the second, and again to the right of the third. 
No one believed that possible until Richmond gave a 
demonstration, on what is now Lincoln Field, and all 
doubt vanished. Many a night after a game I rubbed the 
champion's mighty biceps with witch hazel and prepared 
him for victory another day. In living at 12 Hope Col- 
lege it was his part to bring up the water from the old 
pump and mine to tend and mend the fire in the stove. 
Our coal was kept in one closet and our clothes in the 
other. Frequently the coal and the clothes got into the 
same bin. After rattling down the stove in the morning 
I carefully carried out the red-hot coals and placed them 
on the floor in the corner of the hall. Dangerous .f* Not 
at all ; Hope College never had burned down and we be- 
lieved it never could. 



358 



Memories of Brow?i 



Professor Greene we loved, and, if we did not master 
astronomy in his classroom, we learned to appreciate the 
broad views and delightful whimsicality of a man who 




President William H. P. Faunce, 1880 



taught all subjects equally well, and occupied, as Oliver 
Wendell Holmes used to say, " not a chair but a whole 
settee." Professor Diman knocked the halos off the 



Memories of Brown ^59 



saints, and challenged conventional opinion; but with 
such wealth of knowledge, such easy mastery of facts, and 
such urbane and lofty manner as to leave us all in con- 
stant admiration. For sheer enjoyment, however, noth- 
ing that came to me in college was equal to the class- 
room of Professor John L. Lincoln. Perched on a lofty 
chair behind a big desk in dingy 23 University Hall, he 
made the old Romans walk and talk and joke before us. 
I worked with him for nearly four years, w4th ever-in- 
creasing delight. I learned more English from him than 
from any English teacher I ever had. How he beamed 
and glowed over a happy translation ! With what con- 
tagious gladness he expounded some callida junctura in 
Tacitus ! How he radiated his own joy in the Ars Poeti- 
ca ! How he exploded over some venerable joke in Ter- 
ence, as if it were the latest cartoon in Punch ! The 
Latin a dead language? No one ever said that who sat 
under " Johnny Link " in 23 University Hall. 

The only 'varsity organization (as we should say today) 
that I had part in was the glee club. Pretty poor music 
it seems, as I glance over the old scores now. But it 
pleased our indulgent audiences, it strengthened our ab- 
dominal breathing, and it carried the name and fame of 
the college from Woonsocket to New Bedford. To hear 
W. F. Thomas sing his Karen songs — or rather j^^ him — 
until the veins stood out like whipcord on brow and 
neck was worth the price of admission. " Art " Howe's 
rich voice was famous, though it did finally quaver and 
break when in the last chapel service he sang the solo in 
Alma Mater. And when G. F. Weston struck his manly 
pose and sang, " There Was a Miller Good and True Be- 
side the River Dee," a swift and vociferous encore was 
sure to follow. May the men in that old crowd keep on 
singing through all the darkening and brightening years ! 

William H. P. Faunce, 1880. 



360 Memories of Brown 

The Romance Department Under 

Gates 





IN the old days, when modern languages were just 
being introduced into New England colleges, there 
was a French instructor at Brown by the name of 
Gates, whose life was not a happy one. His under- 
standing of English was equal to the students' under- 
standing of French, and the misunderstandings of both 
were plentiful. Usually the students did their only study- 
ing during the calling of the roll in the classroom. As 
the roll was called, each man was supposed to respond 
" Ici." This response was easily corrupted into " easy," 
and as the word was shouted from all parts of the room, 
the indignation of the instructor became boundless. 
Finally he threatened a hundred demerits to any man who 
made the "easy" response. Charles Seaver Scott, vale- 
dictorian of 'jj, and a man faultlessly correct in demean- 
or, was in the class one morning wholly absorbed in 
learning his lesson during the calling of the roll. Finally 
Instructor Gates called out " Scott," and the response 
quickly came, " Easy ! " " I gif you one hundred demerits, 
Mr. Scott," thundered the instructor. "What for?' 
cried the astonished Scott. " I will see you after class," 
responded Mr. Gates. Mutual explanations followed, 
and the removal of the demerits proved as " easy " as their 
acquirement. Such was the Romance department in 
" other days at Brown." 

William H. P. Faunce, 1880. 



Me. 



mortes 



o/B. 



rown 



361 



Beating Harvard and Yale in 
Seventy-nine 




EFORE and even in my time the 
lower campus was unexplored save 
by drivers of dump-carts. I cannot 
remember that I ever stepped be- 
yond the middle campus till Burdette 
of '80, in our senior year, established 
a ground for pitching quoits just east 
of Chemistry Hall. We played ball 
on the middle campus, batting south 
from a point midway between Chem- 
istry Hall and the chapel. Our 
games were played either on the old 
Adelaide avenue grounds or on the 
Messer street grounds. 

Even such advantages were good when compared with 
the provisions made for gymnasium work. I don't 
know how to describe our gymnasium. It was a vaga- 
bond gymnasium to start with, claiming the same 
sheltering roof (it was always located next the roof) only 
till rent was due, then gathering its belongings into a 
moving wagon and " moving on." The gymnasium was 
ownerless — the students had bought a good part of the 
apparatus ; the corporation were supposed to be the pow- 
er that controlled, and it bore the name of the man who 
cared for it. We had to work to keep warm and we had 
good ventilation — a surplus, in fact. Still for a couple of 



Memories of Brown 363 

years the winter's gymnasium work was followed in the 
spring by such creditable victories on the ball-field as to 
\\2irrdint 2i propter hoc conclusion. 

The secret of our success, though, in '78 and '79 was 
that we had good clubs in the city with which to play 
practice games. General Dennis organized the Rhode 
Islands on the old Adelaide avenue ground in '75 or '76, 
and with his club the university played many games. 
And in case of accident to any of his players he filled his 
nine from our nine. So for several years the university 
men had good training. Later the League Club was or- 
ganized on the Messer-street ground and with that fa- 
mous team we played. 

In the years '76 to '78 some unusually good players 
came in from the Friends' School and from other places, 
so that in 'y^ our university nine made a very good show- 
ing in the college games and in '79 we won the champion- 
ship. 

That year we had an infield that was equal to any in- 
field that any college had had for ten years. It rivaled 
Harvard's famous infield of Wright, Latham, Leeds and 
Thayer. We had then Meader, Hovey, Dilts and Ladd. 
Later, Meader went into right-field and White played ist. 
The outfield was Rose, Green and Waterman. There 
was one play that Meader used to make, i. e., to go far for 
a ground ball and field it to the pitcher, covering first ; 
that he made more times in a few college games than I 
saw it made in a hundred professional games. 

It was this nine with Winslow and myself catching and 
pitching that repaid Harvard for the many defeats we 
had suffered at her hands. In our first game with Har- 
vard, I think the first game of the season, we beat them 
so badly that for the next game they secured Ernst and 
Tyng — a battery that had played Harvard games for six 
or seven years, and Wright, their ancient first baseman 



364 



Memories of Brown 



We were too much for them, however, in every way. 
We batted harder and stole bases on Tyng in a way that 
surprised him. We won the game and then the cry was 
" If we can only get a game from Yale." Yale had al- 
ready won a game from us, 2-0. We lost the game on a 




University Baseball Team, 1879 
Intercollegiate Champions 



single wild throw by myself. This final game with Yale 
that gave possession of the championship was the most 
exciting game I ever saw. When Yale went to bat in 
the ninth inning, the score stood 3-2 against them. By 
the time two men were out they had the bases full. The 



Memories of Brown 



365 



game literally turned on one ball pitched, for the next 
batter waited till he had two strikes and eight balls. The 
grandstand was as still as death. Numbers of fellows 
had gone behind the grandstand unable to watch the 
game. When the last ball was struck at and caught by 
the catcher — well — I can't tell you my feelings. I re- 
member having Professor Lincoln shake my hand, and 
wondering if the other fellows found it as uncomfortable 
to be hoisted up on shoulders as I did. 

J. Lee Richmond^ 1880. 




The Class of 1881 — Twenty-five Years after 



366 Memories of Brown 



Campus Events in the Eighties 



THE front campus with the exception of Slater 
Hall, the Carrie Tower, the memorial gate and 
the class fence is the same as it was a genera- 
tion ago. Previous to 1880 the natural scenery 
of the middle campus, consisting of two rows of great elm 
trees on the west side, corresponding to those on the east 
side, made the view from Waterman to George streets 
much more beautiful than it is at the present time. At 
the completion of Sayles Memorial Hall, in the spring of 
1880, it was discovered that the basement was too low for 
the campus, and that a portion of the north end of the 
campus would have to be removed, beginning on a line 
with Waterman street, taking off about five feet and end- 
ing with the grade of George street, necessitating the ad- 
dition of several granite steps to Hope College and Man- 
ning Hall and twelve freestone steps to University Hall. 
This work resulted in the removal of about twenty-four 
of the large elms from the middle campus. The destruc- 
tion of these noble and stately trees was very much de- 
plored, and has greatly diminished the beauty of the mid- 
dle campus. 

It will be remembered by many that Lincoln Field at 
this time was nothing more than a swamp, partly covered 
by water, inhabited by a numerous colony of musical 
bull-frogs. This swamp, which was about ten feet below 
the grade of Thayer street, was bordered with a tropical 
growth of shrubbery and tall grass. In the spring of 1880 
Professor Greene undertook to improve matters. With 



Memories of Brown 367 

a force of men and teams he removed the unnecessary 
trees and filled up the swamp. His enthusiasm for this 
work was contagious, and the college community began 
to feel that a ball-field near the college was a necessity. 
To this work he devoted much of his time and money, 
and frequently after dismissing his class he would be seen 
with his coat laid aside, joining in the work side by side 
with the laborers. As a result of his self-sacrificing effort 
a ball-field was provided that was appreciated by the stu- 
dents and their friends for many years. 

At that time athletics did not receive as much financial 
support as now. Previous to the days of Lincoln Field 
the baseball contests took place in the Elmwood district, 
upon the Adelaide avenue grounds. Professor Greene's 
interest in college sports was such that whenever possible 
he was present at these games, always riding in the same 
horse-car with the ball players, and regularly when the 
collector came to collect the fares he would quickly take 
from his pocket a very much worn pocketbook and pay 
for the entire party. Contrary to general belief, football 
in those days was played with a considerable degree of 
science and skill, although the entire class to a man was 
engaged in the same game. Whole classes were pitted 
against one another, being delegated to the advance line, 
the middle line and the rear line, sixty to seventy-five 
men upon each side, extending the entire width of Dexter 
Training Ground, where the class contests were usually 
held. It was a sight long to be remembered when one 
hundred and fifty men were engaged in a great football 
contest, each one earnestly struggling for the honor of 
his class. 

The Sayles Hall Lockup 

There was given in Sayles Hall in 1886 an interesting 



368 Memories of Brown 

stereopticon lecture, and a large audience was in attend- 
ance, many of the best families in the city being repre- 
sented. Not at all disconcerted by the character of the 
audience or the extent of the consequence of the mischief, 
some of the students decided to fasten the doors of the 
building and hold the people prisoners. Taking advan- 
tage of that part of the lecture when the room was dark- 
ened, the students closed the large entrance doors. The 
next thing to do was to fasten them, and this was effec- 
tively accomplished by passing an iron chain (which had 
been secured from the old pump at Hope College) two or 
three times through the bronze rings in the doors, and 
securing it by means of a large padlock. The students 
then assembled in a body to watch the result of their 
work. 

When the audience attempted to leave the building 
they soon found that they were locked in, and as there 
was no other exit a great commotion arose. The only 
escape possible was down through the basement, and as 
this was a narrow and obscure passage, not being de- 
signed for an exit, very few took advantage of it. Al- 
though many schemes for escape were proposed the great- 
er part of the audience good-naturedly decided to wait un- 
til the doors were opened. 

In the meantime there was much noise upon the out- 
side. The servant in charge, as soon as he found out 
what the trouble was, became very much upset because a 
mischief so serious had been carried out while he was 
absent, and quickly went to inform the steward, who at 
once hastened to the scene of the disturbance. Upon his 
arrival he was greeted with rousing cheers by the stu- 
dents. The steward decided that the only means of open- 
ing the doors was to cut away the chains, and as soon as 
a saw could be obtained he set to work with a will, while 
each stroke was loudly cheered by the mischief-makers. 



Memories of Brown 369 

At last the saw severed the chain, and as the doors swung 
open the students sent up a deafening shout and cheered 
lustily at the audience as they poured out of the building 
after their half-hour of imprisonment. 

In honor of this episode the following poem appeared 
in the Brunonian of May i, 1886: 



The picture trembled on the screen ; 
The speaker bowed and closed the scene ; 
The audience rose and turned to go. 
But, see ! What is it moves them so ? 
With locks in chains securely sealed 
The oaken doors refused to yield. 



The worthy steward looked around. 

And soon an iron bar he found. 

With this he twisted up the chain ; 

He strove and pulled with might and main, 

While by him stood a henchman strong, 

Whose words of wisdom cheered him on. 



Upon„the campus round the door, 
The boys were howling more and more, 
" Now give three cheers for Mother Brown, 
It looks as though she'd caged the town. 
Rouse the echoes all you will, 
We've got the run of College Hill." 

Within, the people talked and laughed 
And wondered who the wretch so daft 
Had dared to put them in this plight. 
And keep them out so late at night. 
Said one incisive, ancient dame, 
" Boys will be boys ; they're all the same." 



370 Memories of Brown 

The wistful maiden turned her face 
So full of winsomeness and grace 
Upon the fellow by her side, 
Who looked in turn and then replied 
In blessings on the fastened door 
That gave him fifteen minutes more. 



Without was laughter long and loud 
Among the interested crowd, 
Who bade the steward twist his lever 
" Forever — never — Never — forever." 
But now with other means in play, 
He quickly sawed the chains away. 

The victor opened wide the door, 
And raised aloft the saw he bore. 
That was the " Open sesame " 
Which made a way for liberty. 
" 'Twas greeted with a wild delight, 
That made a bedlam of the night." 



The Hope College Cow 

A student had in his possession an old worn-out 
lounge, stuffed with excelsior, which he decided could 
serve no better purpose than that of creating a little ex- 
citement. Accordingly he saturated it with kerosene oil, 
which was obtained at Bradley's little store on Benevo- 
lent street. While the student was in the act of applying 
the match, he heard footsteps coming hurriedly toward 
him, and, thinking that it was one of the faculty, he 
started to run, but in his haste stumbled over a cow 
which belonged to Governor Taft and was lying on 
the grass. Believing that his identity was discovered 



Memories of Brown 371 

and the bonfire a failure, he was greatly incensed against 
the cow, and lost no time in informing his fellow-students 
of his misfortune. Some time later groups of students 
gathered to discuss the matter, for the presence of a 
cow on the campus gave the college too much the 
appearance of a dairy to suit the refined tastes of many 
of the students. They had felt for some time that they 
had a real grievance, and the incident narrated proved 
the veritable last straw. Accordingly a large delegation 
of students from each class assembled in the evening with 
a view to reforming matters. A rope was secured, and, 
throwing it around the cow, which was then feeding near 
the laboratory, they formed a procession and proceeded 
to the middle division of Hope College. On arriving at 
the door the rope was adjusted around the cow in such 
a way as to allow fifteen or more students to climb the 
stairs, pulling on the rope, while the remainder pushed 
behind, and by this process the cow was successfully 
landed on the third floor. The animal was then forced 
to the open window, with her head protruding ; one end 
of the rope was fastened about her horns and the other 
thrown out of the window where ready hands grasped it 
to hold it taut until the boys had all escaped from the di- 
vision. The large entrance doors were then closed, the 
rope passed through the handles and most securely knot- 
ted. The rope achieved two results, in that the cow was 
fastened to the open window, and at the same time the 
doors were firmly closed against any hasty entrance upon 
the part of the authorities. 

President Robinson was among the first to discover the 
cow's head at the window. He hastened to University 
Hall to inform the registrar, but found only one man on 
duty. The president ordered the cow removed at once, 
but this was somewhat of a difficult undertaking, as she 
energetically resented all assistance. The only safe way 



372 



Memories of Brown 



out of the difficulty would be to lower her down by the 
aid of block and tackle, but that would take more time 
than the president would allow. The students were 
uncommonly quiet and some even offered to help. 
After exercising a great deal of patience, the cow was 




Van Wickle Gates 



brought to the upper landing, but every effort failed 
to induce her to take one step down the stairs. The 
students were standing in a line all around the hall 
waiting to see what was going to happen next. The pres- 
ident stood west of the stairs, much interested in the pro- 
ceedings, but, notwithstanding his impatience, the dignity 



Memories of Brown 373 

of his position would not allow him to participate in the 
removal of the cow. He finally suggested that the cow 
be pushed down the stairs, which plan was adopted with 
the result that the cow fell all in a heap at the bottom. 
Much to the surprise of those present she was able to rise 
and walk to the next landing, but after the next descent 
she was not so fortunate. Willing hands then conveyed 
her across the campus to the barn, where she received 
proper care, but all efforts to restore her failed. In a few 
days her condition was such that it was decided to put a 
merciful end to her suffering. 

This demonstration on the part of the students resulted 
in the attainment of their aims, although it unhappily put 
an end to the cow's existence. The pasturing of cows 
on the campus was now abolished, though previously it 
had been encouraged by the board of fellows, who in cor- 
responding with a candidate for the presidency of the col- 
lege had always mentioned the fact that in addition to his 
salary he would have the privilege of pasturing a cow on 
the grounds. 



Bonfires 

The burning of carriages was common in those days. 
One of the most notable incidents in this connection took 
place in the late autumn. The students interested in this 
particular pastime called at a blacksmith shop on Pine 
street, and purchased a worn-out express wagon for the 
sum of twenty-four dollars, including the material for a 
railing around the body of the wagon large enough to ad- 
mit a number of tar barrels, boxes filled with inflammable 
material, and fire rockets. At the favorable time this 
wagon and its contents were brought on the middle cam- 
pus. The most exciting moment was at the time of ap- 



374 



Memories of Brown 



plying the match, when the student would cry " Fire ! " at 
the top of his voice, and " Heads out ! " at the same time 
running for the nearest fence, usually to Waterman or 




Front Campus, 1908 
Before the President's House was removed 



George street. Here he would hang with one foot on the 
fence watching for the slaves to appear with pails of 
water, and, by remaining in this position he could drop 
on either side of the fence as the case required, just as a 



Memories of Brown 375 

frog sitting- on a log in a mill-pond will, at the sight of 
danger, drop in the water out of sight. 

The burning of wagons for amusement reached its climax 
at Brown when the old " one-horse shay " that was kept 
stored in the college barn on Prospect street was burned 
on the middle campus near the old pump. For many 
years this ancient relic had served Presidents Wayland, 
Sears, Caswell and Robinson. When the place of its 
storage became known to the students, the temptation to 
secure it for a bonfire was too great to resist. At the 
celebration of one of the ball games, the barn was entered, 
and the old shay, that for so many years had served its 
generation, was soon on its way to the place of cremation, 
where every detail was carried out in perfect order. At 
the sound of a signal, the windows in the dormitories 
were quickly opened, while all the fish-horns available 
were brought into action. The students who occupied 
rooms on the east side joined those occupying the win- 
dows in the hallways, so the students responsible for the 
rooms from whence the trouble came could say that they 
were absent from their rooms, when called before the 
president. The slaves were awakened from their slumbers 
by the cry of " Fire." To leave their warm quarters and go 
out into a temperature near the zero mark was certainly 
a severe hardship. When they appeared with pails of 
water, they were greeted with deafening shouts and blasts 
on the horns. The students tried to impede the work as 
much as possible, hurling all sorts of missiles, even live 
coals, from the windows. Their efforts were successful 
and all efforts to save the old historical chaise failed. It 
will be remembered by the participants that, while the 
excitement was at its height, the president and registrar 
had entered the buildings from the west, and noiselessly 
made their way up the hallway, taking the names of many 
of the students who were in the window-seats absorbed in 



376 



Memories of Brown 



blowing their horns. When discovered every one rushed 
to his room. All that remained of the " one-horse shay " 
disappeared forever. 

From 1877 to 188 1 was probably the greatest time in 
the history of the college for cane-rushes, bonfires, blow- 




MiDDLE Campus 
Showing University Hall Restored, 1906 



ing of fish-horns and explosions of gunpowder. Spring 
and fall were the principal times for this sport. When 
material was scarce, the students would take a mattress 
from a bed or an old lounge, saturate it with oil, and 
watch for a good opportunity to light it at a short distance 
from the buildings. They would then return to their 



Memories of Brown 377 

rooms and shout " Heads out !" which would bring every 
student with a horn to the window. When the servants 
appeared with pails of water, the blowing of the horns 
and shouting would increase tenfold, and pieces of coal, 
inkwells, eggs and other missiles were thrown from the 
windows, increasing the sport of the students and endan- 
gering the safety of the servants. 

The night after Garfield was elected president, there 
were several large fires at the college, the first one being 
in the rear, now the middle, campus. The students 
joined hands, formed a ring and danced around the fire. 
One of the servants made an effort to break through the 
line, when he received a blow from a missile that broke 
his arm. While this fire was at its height a second and 
a third one were started on the front campus. 

It was the custom for President Robinson to appear on 
the campus on such occasions, and it was interesting to 
see him with his coat collar turned up close about his 
neck, while from beneath a very shallow cap that he kept 
drawn over the bald part of his head escaped long locks 
of white hair which hung down on his shoulders. Gen- 
erally he would take his stand in the shadow of a tree, 
and try to determine from what source the disturbance 
proceeded. On several occasions he discovered students 
securing fuel for the fire, and, notwithstanding their en- 
deavors to escape, he would often catch one of them with 
the end of his shoe. 



Ringing the Bell at Midnight 

A very daring and well-laid plan was carried out by 
several of the young men in Slater Hall. After a brief 
consultation, it was proposed to procure a rope at one of 
the down-town hardware stores, to fasten one end to the 



378 



Memories of Brown 



college bell and pass the other end through a window into 
a vacant room in Slater Hall, where it was to receive the 
proper attention. To reach the bell required strategy. 
One of the students gained access to the room of the bell- 
ringer and secured the key to the door leading to the 
bell-tower. After reaching the bell he quickly severed 
the rope and attached the new line to the bell while the 
free end was carried to the vacant room in Slater Hall. 
The preparation for ringing the bell was not all of the 
scheme. While this was in progress, a decrepit express 
wagon, filled with tar barrels and inflammable material, 
was brought on to the campus and left in front of Sayles 




University Grammar School 
Present Site of the Administration Building 



Hall. The wheels were carefully fastened with telegraph 
wire, so as to hinder its removal by the authorities. 

After attaching the line to the bell, the work of block- 



Memories of Brown 379 

ing every avenue leading to the belfry was carefully ac- 
complished. This was done by filling the keyhole of the 
door leading to the attic with filings from the machine 
shop and fastening the door of the janitor's room with a 
rope. The pump was also put out of order so that no 
water could be obtained to quench the flames. 

Finally the hour of midnight came ; all was calm and 
serene. The students took their respective places, and 
each one pledged himself to carry out his part of the pro- 
gramme at any cost. After a brief review by the leaders 
of the movement the signal was given, and almost instantly 
the flames leaped from the doomed wagon. The vibra- 
ting sound of the bell in the stillness of the night, the cry 
of "Fire," and the tooting of fish-horns from the windows 
soon brought people from far and near. It was interest- 
ing to see the different costumes in which they came. 
Some hurried from their club-rooms in evening dress, 
while the fair sex wore shawls loosely thrown over their 
heads. By this time the excitement was fast increasing. 
The man manipulating the line in the vacant room was 
doing good work with the bell. At first the strokes were 
long and regular, but gradually they became fast and ir- 
regular. There were two servants on duty at the college, 
and at the cry of " Fire " they rushed from their beds to the 
door, only to find it fastened. A hasty examination 
brought the true situation to light, and a window served 
as an exit. The usual methods of extinguishing bonfires 
were adopted, but since it was found impossible to remove 
the wire from the wheels, the two men at once turned 
their attention to the bell. 

On arriving at the attic door they found that the presi- 
dent had preceded them. Standing at the end of the hall 
were two students, one now a prominent lawyer in New 
York, looking out of the window at the excitement, now 
at its height, and not heeding the approach of the presi- 



380 



Memories of Brown 



dent behind them. One shouted, " Here comes Zeke!" 
beHeving he saw the president approaching through the 
campus. Just at that moment indeed the president was 
close by, and grasping the young man by the collar said 




Sayles Memorial Hall, 1908 
Rogers Hall (Chemical Laboratory) at the Left 



with the utmost sternness, "Go to your room!" The 
president then attempted to unlock the belfry door, but 
was unable to do so, as the key-hole was filled solid with 
iron filings. He therefore ordered the two men on duty 



Memories of Brown 381 

to force open the door. Before this could be accompHshed 
there had been a delay of more than one hour, thus giving 
the student in the dark and deserted-looking room in 
Slater Hall ample opportunity for the exercise of his 
physical powers in pulling at the improvised bell rope. 
Never did a student work harder. The surpassing joy of 
remaining uncaught was a most thrilling reward. The 
ancient laurel-wreaths of Greece could not bestow a rec- 
ompense so glorious. As soon as the tower door was 
opened, the president quickly grasped the old bell rope 
that hung just within. But the effort was in vain. The 
bell still continued its defiant and clarion ring. There 
was a still further delay in procuring lanterns, and a slow, 
groping ascent up the steep and narrow stairs, and only 
when the bell itself was reached did they discover the 
small line, the source of all this disturbance. One stroke 
of the knife brought reward to those conducting the in- 
vestigation, also incidentally warning the student at the 
other end that it was time to retire. In his haste to 
escape detection, he ran into the nearest room, which one 
minute later the president entered. Had Dr. Robinson 
looked under the bed he would have found the object of 
his search. 

As soon as the bell stopped ringing, all the heads in 
the windows were withdrawn, it being considered perilous 
to continue further the disturbance in a scheme so suc- 
cessfully carried out. Those in authority spent two hours 
of desperate but vain effort to locate the originators. 



The Paintings of '82 

The class of 1882 became famous as painters, not 
especially artistic, but they won a reputation city-wide. 
Their most famous painting in oil was executed in the 



382 



Mem 



ones Oi 



B 



rown 



course of a single night. They were both rapid and ener- 
getic, and the thoroughness of their task was upon the 
hps of all those fortunate enough to witness upon the 



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A Front Campus Vista, 1908 



following morning their completed labors. The morning 
opened up bright and beautiful, and as the sun arose the 
numerals of the class emerged most distinctly, with the 



Memories of Brown 383 

various college structures admirably serving the purpose 
of both background and framing. These pictures, though 
patterned after a common original, all differed in the 
scale of measurement. The canvases included all the 
college buildings, not even omitting the president's house. 
Those placed upon the front doors of the chapel were 
sufficiently huge to cover the entire entrance. The most 
daring and difficult of all was the placing of this decora- 
tion upon the tower of Sayles Hall. How the boys ac- 
complished this feat still remains a mystery, for the re- 
moval of the figures required the erection of a staging, the 
use of many yards of rags, college bedding and several 
gallons of turpentine, and the enlistment into service of 
the whole janitorial force. 



<' Uncle John" Reeves 

Hundreds of old graduates will remember John 
Reeves, or " Uncle John," with his basket of tempting 
pastry and candy. He began business on the col- 
lege campus in or about i860. His wares were so 
tempting and his manner so genial that he rapidly built 
up a trade which soon warranted him in sending for 
his family from across the sea. Although so far advanced 
in years that he had indeed a patriarchal appearance, yet 
he never failed in rain or shine to be on hand at the south 
end of the chapel steps before the morning service and at 
the rear of the chapel at the close of the first period of 
recitations. He also attended all the ball games and pub- 
lic gatherings, so that he became a well-known figure to 
thousands who did not attend college. 

For many years " Uncle John " worked in this capacity, 
and his punctuality and kindly manner gained for him a 



384 



Memories of Brown 



large patronage. The students who most frequently pur- 
chased of him were those who were fond of a morning 
nap and were thus obliged to forego a regular breakfast. 
When at last he became too feeble to hold his position 
longer, he was removed, through the kindness of friends, 
to the Home for Aged Men, where his latter years were 
passed in peace and comfort. 

Antho7iy McCabe. 




" Uncle John " Reeves 



Memories of Brown 385 



President Robinson's Terse Philos- 



ophy 



To many the classroom sayings of Dr. E. G. Rob- 
inson were perhaps the most valuable part of his 
"Autobiography." Here are some uttered in the 
year 1 882-1 883 which do not appear in that mem- 
orial volume. Some of them are quoted to show Dr. Rob- 
inson's masterful command of figurative language in the 
exposition of abstract principles; some his fehcity in 
loading a single virile word with meaning, and some the 
vital and essential truths that animated his teaching. 

" Man is the tangential point between the world of mat- 
ter and the world of spirit." 

" Man is a pole bean." (With reference to all things 
fulfilling the laws of its being. By virtue of his nature 
man will climb.) 
" I am free to act myself out." 

" We know more of Christianity than the Apostles." 
" Today a man does more thinking while he is stropping 
his razor than he did a few centuries ago in several weeks." 
" Form power to judge ; better reach a wrong conclusion 
than none." 

" Every man must run the moral gauntlet for himself." 
"In memory put on the stamp of your own coinage." 
" You come in here with your heads rolling around like 
a new-born baby's. I'll steady your heads for you." (At 
the beginning of the course in psychology.) 



386 



Mi 



em ones 



ofB 



rown 



"Some men's minds turn over on this subject like the 
edge of an old case-knife cutting lignum-vitse." 

" You can't squirm out of moral law." 

" To be vicious is to carry a penalty in your own bosom." 

" Some say a man can grow his conscience just as he 
can grow his onions." 

" You have brained conscience with one blow when you 
have decided that you are governed by necessity." 










" The conscience of a dog lies in his epidermis." 

" I will reverence any man's reverence anywhere." 

" Religion is not a matter of song and parades ; you 

might as well sit on the steps of a church and play on a 

jewsharp." 

"Some people think of Heaven as a place to loaf and 

sing." 

" If a man comes to you whining out that he wants to 

be happy, take your foot to him and give him a boost — 

' Go to work, you lazy dog.' " 



Memories of Brown 387 

" Aristotle dictated theology for a thousand years." 
"Locke went to seed in Hume." 

" The brain sometimes seems like a load of hay ; the 
least thing will capsize it." 

Dr. Robinson's moral feelings were intense, often vol- 
canic. No one could forget the wiry vigor with which he 
used to throw out his right arm from his tense body. 
And the upper extremities did not always suffice. At an 
Anti-Mormon meeting in Providence he described a con- 
versation he had had with a Mormon on one of his Western 
trips. He expressed the loathing which the memory of 
the man's conception of womanhood aroused in him by 
a violent kick, which brought down the house. 

An amusing mistake occurred one day in Dr. Robin- 
son's class in ethics. He was somewhat forgetful when 
absorbed in his teaching and so found it best to interject 
any announcement he had to make whenever it came to 
his mind. The day before there had been disorder in a 
recitation of the junior class which had been helped on by 
some of the seniors who came to the door and even into 
the lecture-room. This the doctor wished to reprove. So 
when it came to his mind in the middle of the hour, he 
said suddenly, " Gentlemen, if someone from outside 
should come into this room to make a disturbance, 
wouldn't I take him by the nape of the neck and hustle 

him out? " B , who was a little sleepy that morning, 

mistook the question for one in the ordinary course of 
teaching (Dr. Robinson's method was largely catecheti- 
cal) and answered innocently " No, sir." At that the 
doctor's wrath blazed out and he answered impetuously, 
" Yes, I would, too ; you or any other man ; " following up 
this assertion by vigorous language oh the occurrence of 
the preceding day in which some before him were con- 
cerned. In a minute or two the doctor saw that B 



388 



Memories of Brown 



had misunderstood him, and a very kindly explanation 
came at the close of the hour. 

In the intensity of his moral indignation, Dr. Robinson 
seemed violent or unduly stern sometimes, but the best 




Front Campus from Waterman Street, 1908 
Robinson Gate in the Foreground 



men of 1883 recognized his worth and power, and he be- 
came a strong influence in their lives. By appointment 
on one occasion, he met those who wished advice on the 
choice of a calling in life. In a helpful talk he passed in 



Memories of Brown 389 

review the various professions, strongly presenting the 
claims of the Christian ministry. 

The depth of his interest in the students was most 
strongly revealed to me at one of the weekly religious 
meetings. " You come to me," he said, " for infraction of 
the rules, and I have to speak sternly to you. Then you 
go away and say, ' the doctor is pretty hard.' But I want 
to tell you that my heart yearns over every one of you." 
This he said with an earnestness of manner and a tremor 
in his voice which showed that he was deeply moved. 

An incident of Professor Lincoln may perhaps add a 
little to the delightful portraiture of him that we have in 
the memorial volume. I was standing one day beside him 
while he was watching a close game of baseball between 
Brown and Yale. He manifested his interest by his usual 
lively movements, and when Yale made a costly error, 
clapped his hands, then abruptly stopped clapping, and, 
in his inimitable boyish way, said, " Oh, I forgot; that is 
■contra tirbanitateinr 

One word in justice to the boys of those days. Junior 
burial was an established institution, attended with lots of 
fun and frolic. It was the mock burial of one of the pro- 
fessors after a funeral procession through the streets of 
Providence. There were transparencies and an oration 
at the expense of the professor buried, and the mock 
chaplain, often one of the fastest fellows in college, was 
not wanting. It came to be felt that the practice was un- 
kind to the professors and irreverent. In the class of 
1882 there was a strong vote against it; in 1883, after a 
iull and free discussion, there was a decided vote not to 
observe the custom — and so sanity and kindliness won 
the day and established a precedent for future classes. 

Isaac B. Burgess, 188 j. 



390 Memories of Brown 



Classroom Memories 

PROFESSOR LINCOLN often talked to his class I 

in Latin. That is, he used short Latin sentences ^ 

and phrases which the class could readily under- 
stand. This seemed very wonderful to freshmen 
who had never thought of Latin as something that could 
be spoken. For example, when the applause was becom- 
ing a little too strenuous he would shake his head with a 
deprecating gesture and cry, " Non pedibus." One day a 
student who had poorly prepared his lesson was struggling 
along with the translation, trying, perhaps, to make a bluff 
of the recitation. Presently he came to a word which he 
said he did not know and the professor cried, "Unum, 
duo, tres, quatuor annos Latine studuisti et illud verbum 
non comprendisti." 

President Robinson in his lectures after a careful dis- 
cussion of some abstract point would often begin a new 
paragraph with the phrase " Thus it is evident," or " Thus 
we clearly see." One day a student was worrying along 
in his recitation with much effort on the part of the presi- 
dent to get something from him. Finally in despair 
President Robinson said, " Well, go on," and the student 
began, " Thus we clearly see." The president joined in 
the laugh that followed. 

Henry P. Manning, i88j. 

The late Professor T. Whiting Bancroft, affection- 
ately called " Timmy," was a great believer in a sort 
of sliding scale for the literary abilities of his pupils. 



Mi 



emories Oi 



B 



row?2 



391 



as they advanced under his guidance in their rhetorical 
and Hterary career. One freshman student, in fulfilhng 
his composition duties, handed in a certain essay which 
was duly corrected by the professor, who gave him a 
mark of niiiety. In his sophomore year it became the 




Professor T. Whiting Bancroft, 1859 
(Taken about 1884) 



duty of this self-same student to present another com- 
position, but, as the time pressed, he was compelled to 
erase the pencil corrections of his freshman year and 
deliver the identical paper again. The paper was re- 
turned with some of the previous corrections noted again 
and with a mark of ninety- j£r. 



392 Memories of Brown 

President Robinson, commonly called " Zeke," enjoyed 
a rather fine sense of humor. The subject of moral 
philosophy seems a little dull for boys who have not 
started for Heaven by way of the ministry. Accordingly, 
one bitter winter day, the seniors considered that a vaca- 
tion from the usual lecture would be desirable, and care- 
fully opened the windows of the recitation-room of Man- 
ning Hall. Unfortunately this fact must have attracted 
the eagle eye of the doctor, for at the lecture hour he 
sauntered over in his heavy coat and warm skull-cap, and 
seated himself in his usual chair in the icy hall. Without 
uttering a word, or giving a hint as to the unusual tem- 
perature, he proceeded mildly and with all the gravity of 
a Roman senator to discuss with the class for one full, 
torturing hour the beauties of moral philosophy. It is 
safe to say that this class did not try again the experi- 
ment of the open window. 

William M. P. Bowen, 1884. 



It is sometimes said that a joke can be carried too far. 
So the professor discovered one day when a plan that 
had been carefully laid was carried into effect. It had 
been the custom for the professor from time immemo- 
rial, as often as the passage in Homer referring to the 
" well-greaved Achaeans " was reached, to ask, " W ell, 
Mr. Blank, what were they grieved about ? " and, when in- 
formed that the word "well-greaved" referred to armor 
for the legs, to laugh heartily at his own joke ; the class, 
of course, would laugh too. This day the familiar passage 
came, and the familiar question came also and then came 
the familiar hearty laugh on the part of the professor, but 
each student was as solemn and quiet as if at a funeral ; 
only the professor's chuckling voice broke the silence. 
He soon ceased and, blushing and nervous, proceeded 



Memories of Brown 393 

impatiently with the lesson. Soon the passage occurred 
again and from force of habit the same question and the 
same laughter on the part of the professor, but a solemn 
stillness on the part of the students prevailed, and al- 
though only twenty minutes of the hour had gone by the 
class was dismissed with an extra long passage of Homer 
for translation for the next day. 

Robert H. Ferguson, 1884. 



Back in the early eighties a brilliant graduate of 
Brown University, the valedictorian of his class, was 
called to teach the senior class in logic. The class 
soon discovered the instructor's weak points and made 
his life a perpetual torment. Whenever he attempted 
to write an outline of the day's work upon the board 
his hand and head were made targets for all sorts 
of missiles in the form of torpedoes and lighted fire- 
crackers. All exercises which were written upon the 
board by the students were distorted in such a way as to 
give opportunity to the class to bring down the " George 
Washington stamp " or to introduce some other form of 
disturbance. Students were never absent ; their names 
were always responded to by specially delegated friends. 
There were no failures in recitation; those who were not 
prepared found no difficulty in securing the services of 
the more fortunate. It was not an uncommon thing to 
open exercises with fireworks, and often the room was 
filled with smoke to suffocation. 

Some of the instructors in elocution had similar ex- 
periences. Declamations were then given in the old 
chapel, Manning Hall. It was the custom of the instruc- 
tor to ask ten or a dozen of the class to speak on a given 
afternoon, while the remainder of the class were allowed 
to constitute the audience. While declamations were 



394 



Memories of Brown 



being delivered, the audience lost no opportunity in an- 
noying both the instructor and the speaker, and the 
young orator who passed successfully through the ordeal 
certainly received a rare preparation for his life's work. 
Frequently the entire audience would rush up the narrow 
stairways to the gallery, leaving the speaker and instruc- 




Professor John W. P. Jenks, U 
(Taken about 1884) 



tor to themselves, then at a signal from some of the lead- 
ers the whole class would return to their places below. 
In another department one of the professors was obliged 
to submit to a musical introduction to his lecture, and 
often those in the adjoining rooms could hear " Old 
Hundred," and other solemn hymns, rendered with a de- 



Memories of Brown 395 

gree of earnestness which would do credit to a country 
prayer-meeting. 

We cannot help loving the well-behaved boy, nor ad- 
miring the student who gives us no trouble in the class- 
room ; still, is the good behavior of the modern student an 
indication of real advance in quality of true education, or 
is it an expression of the very deficiences which we de- 
plore in the student of today ? 

Otis E. Randall, 1884. 



President Robinson in the psychology class was ex- 
plaining how we acquire knowledge ; that, once possessed 
of an idea, it would always remain somewhere in the 
mind, though for a time forgotten. Putting it in another 
form he said to a student, " Mr. B., do you know that your 
head is a graveyard ? " 

Physical life is much the same in men and in animals. 
Impressing this fact he said, " Mr. B., you were just like 
any other little animal when you were born." 

A student was standing up trying to recite, but could 
not find anything to say ; he was standing first on one 
foot and then on the other. At length President Robin- 
son remarked, " Mr. B., you remind me of a certain two- 
legged animal in a barnyard, which stands part of the 
time on one leg and part of the time on the other." 

R. K. Wickett, i8go. 



Professor Alonzo Williams frequently referred in the 
classroom to the war and to his experiences as a soldier. 
There was a vein of humor running through his lectures 
and sometimes he gave free rein to his tendency to be 



396 



Mi 



emories o 



ofB 



rown 



humorous. On one occasion he was giving a lecture to 
the class of 1890 upon the " Maid of Orleans." Said he, 
" Young gentlemen, enthusiasm is a great thing. It was 
enthusiasm that led the Maid of Orleans to leave her 
flock upon the green hills of her native district and travel 
alone and unprotected down through France and place 
herself at the head of the French army, beaten, dispirited 




Professor Alonzo Williams, 1870 



and overawed, and lead it to glorious victory. And, 
young gentlemen, it was enthusiasm that led the men of 
the North to leave their farms, shops and offices and go 
to the front to fight for the preservation of the Union. 
So great was their enthusiasm that I have seen them go 
off in transports." 

James A. Williams, i8go. 



Memories of Brown 397 



The Bogus Elective Card 



THE time for the class of Eighty-four to declare 
its wishes in regard to elective studies had come. 
Each man was required to choose a certain 
number of hours from the scheme placed be- 
fore him. Now, it so happened that one of the pro- 
fessors was far from popular with the students, and 
still the subject he was supposed to teach was a very 
important branch. A considerable number elected this 
study because they felt that it was almost necessary to 
know something of the subject, even if they did consider 
the instructor inefficient. 

Perhaps this designation coming from those who never 
were, in college or out, so very brilliant, would seem like 
an unjustifiable stricture, but when we remember that the 
man in question was not reelected to his chair, and that 
the maturer judgments of the students still affirm the 
same thing, it will not seem like " a snap judgment." 
But be that as it may, someone filled out a card including 
the name of a student who had his full time otherwise 
employed, and with the superior teachers. Of course, 
this bogus card got to the professor in charge of the de- 
partment. 

From the very first day to the close of the term the 
poor professor had to read his lecture. In roll-call he was 
equally tied to his notes, and he never tried to know any- 
one of us on the street. We will call one of the students 
" Timberlake," because there was no such name on the 
roll, and this we will assume was the name on the bogus 



398 Memories of Brown 

card. The name was regularly called morning by morn- 
ing, and was regularly answered to. 

After a time the professor desired to test the attain- 
ments of Mr. Timberlake in the subject in hand, but no 
one responded to the call. After repeated ineffectual at- 
tempts to extract a recitation from the imaginary student, 
he broke out one morning with, " Perhaps — the gentle- 
man — who answered for — Mr. Timberlake at roll-call — 
will be good enough to recite for him." The answer to 
this sally was a loud laugh from all parts of the room. 

In anticipation of a repetition of the effort to land the 
Mr. Timberlake, another man of the class, not the real 
Mr. Timberlake, crammed the review lesson to perfection 
and came into the classroom " loaded to the muzzle," as 
one might say. According to expectation, another effort 
was made to secure results, and to the utter surprise of 
the professor, the call to recite was answered with unusual 
alacrity, and the pseudo student made " a cold rush," cov- 
ered himself with glory and saved all the rest of the class 
from danger so far as that part of the work was concerned. 
At the close of this brilliant display, Mr. Professor compli- 
mented him on the accuracy of his remarks and added 
that he wished to see him at his desk as soon as the 
class adjourned. 

But even this possibility had been foreseen and pro- 
vided for. In just a few moments there was a knock. 
One of the students opened the door, bowed politely to 
what was supposed to be the caller and announced that 
Mr. Timberlake was wanted. The temporary member of 
the class rose in a dignified manner and departed ; not, 
however, till he had signalled back exultantly from the 
safe side of the door. 

Of course, this put a stop to the further investigation of 
the case for that day, but when the next recitation oc- 
curred the result of prolonged midnight cogitation ap- 



Memories of Brown 



399 



peared also, for instead of the usual roll-call at the open- 
ing of the exercise, the lecture began at once. After the 
regular work was covered, the professor announced that 
he would call the roll, and as each man was called he 




Slater Hall from the Southeast 



would please take his hat and depart. As the middle of 
the alphabet was approached a man answered to his name, 
was seen to make a start for the door, and, as the profes- 
sor's eyes glanced at the list to learn which name came 



400 Memories of Brown 

next, dropped into a handy seat. When at last Mr. Tim- 
berlake was called this man got up and genuinely de- 
parted. Thus it happened at the end of the call all seats 
were empty, and Mr, Timberlake had slipped through his 
fingers again. 

The next day a card was handed to the registrar to be 
conveyed to the elusive mortal. It got to the genuine, of 
course, and just at the right moment, just as the class 
broke up, the real Timberlake walked in as dignified and 
sober as the worthy president could be on occasion. He 
proceeded directly to the desk and said at once, " Mr. 
Professor, I believe you wish to see me at this time." 

" What name, please } " 

" Timberlake, sir." 

"Timberlake ; oh yes; I wanted to know, sir, why you 
have not been present more regularly at the recitations in 
this department, and what you mean by your recent con- 
duct .? " 

" Well, sir, I didn't elect this subject, and don't care to 
take it under the present administration." 

" But, sir, I have your card electing this subject, and 
your conduct has been reprehensible." 

" As to that, Mr. Professor, I don't know, and I don't 
care. I do not care to take this subject, and have no in- 
terest in the results." 

As he said that, Mr. Timberlake turned on his heel and 
walked off, leaving the learned professor to cogitate on the 
number of possible combinations of twenty or thirty youth 
with one old man. Doubtless he remembered the occa- 
sion long after he left the precincts of Providence, but as 
he was not there at the opening of the new year, he did 
not need to combine his mental ponderosity with the in- 
tellectual agility of Eighty-five. Eighty-four gave him 
food for reflection for some years. 

Charles R. Upton, 1884. 



Memories of Brown 



401 



Confessions of a Salutatorian 



rHE commencement part assigned to me 
was the Latin salutatory. It occurred 
to me that I should probably never 
have another opportunity to address so 

large and intellectual an audience as 

that I should face at commencement, 

and I besought Professor Bancroft, 

chairman of the proper committee, that 

I might be allowed to speak my mighty 

thoughts in English. " No," he said, "the college stands 

for both conservatism and progress ; and it has fallen to 

your lot to represent conservatism." 

At the appointed time I presented my oration in writ- 
ing to Professor Lincoln, at the close of a recitation. He 
ran it over with his eye, while with apprehension I saw 
him contract his eyebrows and purse up his lips. 

" Why this is so curt f' was his disheartening comment. 
The production was not Ciceronian or Livian the least 
bit. I explained that as I was obliged to speak in Latin, 
and wished so far as possible to be understood, I had pur- 
posely made my sentences short, and had paid little at- 
tention to mere euphony. He was not satisfied, but took 
the unlucky salutatory away for further examination. 
At our next meeting, he courteously expressed the fear 
that he had been too short with me ; nevertheless, he was 
not satisfied. The Latin was correct ; but the style did 
not befit the occasion and subject. He handed me a 
former salutatory more after his taste to serve me as a 



402 



Memories of Brown 



model. The sentences were magnificent rolling periods 
half a page long. I, of course, endeavored to modify my 
jerky production in the direction of euphony, amplitude 
and elaborateness of diction, and between us the piece 
was at length done. Then there was more trouble for 




Looking North on Prospect Street 



me. Professor Lincoln had recently adopted the Roman 
pronunciation, and desired me to use it in delivering my 
oration. I had very little time in which to master the art 
of saying (videre) we-day-reh instead of vye-dee-ry, and I 
doubt if it was any particular pronunciation which I used 



Memories of Brown 403 

on commencement day. But this requirement, that I 
should speak not only in Latin, but with a pronunciation 
strange to me and unintelligible to the audience, de- 
stroyed my last hope of impressing upon that great gath- 
ering the burning thoughts which I had so laboriously 
forced into Latin. I was not happy when my turn came 
to mount the commencement platform. I had first to ad- 
dress a few remarks to President Robinson ; his expres- 
sion was severe, inflexible. I was sure he neither under- 
stood my flattering endorsement of him, nor cared to un- 
derstand. As I addressed the alumni, a large chunk of 
my speech dropped out of my memory ; but here I found 
consolation in the situation — no one knew that I had 
omitted anything, for no one understood me at all, except 
Professor E. Benjamin Andrews, who smiled several 
times when I delivered a joke. On his account I re- 
gretted that lost chunk. The rest of the audience re- 
garded me, though not with understanding so far as I saw, 
yet with a certain awe as if listening to the herald of 
strange and unsettling doctrines. It was the time-hon- 
ored privilege of the salutatorian to excite applause and 
laughter by addressing the '^ pulcherrimae piiellae'" of 
Providence, who had made our sojourn in the city so de- 
lightful. '' Pule her rimae puellae'' were about the only 
words which everybody was expected to understand. I 
took advantage of the new pronounciation to address the 
girls as " Dool-kiss-i-mye poo-el-lye " (Dulcissimae puel- 
lae), but my poor joke fell flat. 

There was a Latin salutatory the following year by 
Frank Day. He was the last of the Latin salutatorians, 
a proud distinction ; but mine is still prouder, for I firmly 
believe it was I who gave the death-blow to the institu- 
tion, and even such surgical skill as his could avail to 
keep it alive no more than a year. 

Frank M. Branson, 1884. 



404 Memories of B 



rown 



How Eighty-four Worried a 
Professor 



I SHALL never forget the cruel treatment meted out 
by our class to a certain member of the faculty, now 
passed away," a graduate of the class of 1884 lately 
told me. " He was a kind old soul, but his bump 
of executive ability was not highly developed. He knew 
his subject, but he did not know how to keep the class in 
check. Boy fashion, we rode over him. It looks foolish 
now, but we thought it was funny then. The first day 
we met him in classroom there was such a scuffling of 
feet that it sounded like pandemonium. 

" He was great on dictation, and after he had dictated a 
sentence or two there was sure to be somebody who had 
to ask him to repeat. Usually the mischief-maker would 
select some simple word that was likely to appear several 
times in a paragraph, as for instance ' and ' or ' the.' 

" ' Professor,' he would say, ' will you please repeat from 
"and"'.? 

" So the professor would repeat from 'and,' and which- 
ever ' and ' he chose it was certain to be the wrong one. 
' Excuse me,' the wicked student would say, ' but I meant 
the " and " just ahead of that one.' 

" There was apt to be trouble when the recitations were 
in progress. Some malefactor would listen for a moment 
or two to Mr. Smith reciting, then up would go his hand 
and he would say : 

" ' Professor, what does Mr. Smith mean when he says 
so and so 1 ' 



Mi 



emortes o, 



B 



rown 



405 



" Of course, that required a long course of explanation 
and very likely some retaliation on Mr, Smith's part. 

" At last it got so bad the president came in. He said 
the pandemonium would have to stop. For a day or two 
there was an improvement, then the old tumult was re- 
newed. Again the president appeared and this time he 
declared that if the professor was obliged to report the 
name of any unruly student, that student would be ex- 




Marston Field House 
Andrews Field 

pelled. This kept us quiet for a day or so, but as we 
were a new class to the professor he hardly knew us by 
name and the result was that we were soon in as much of 
an uproar as ever. Then for a third time the president 
came in and this time he told us that he would not sub- 
mit a member of the faculty to the insults of so unmanly 
a lot of young barbarians, or words to that effect. I be- 
lieve that was the end of the professor's connection with 
the college." 

Henry Robinson Palmer, i8go. 



406 Memories of Brown 

'' Something Doing" in the 
Eighties 



IN the eighties there was generally " something doing" 
about the Brown campus. In those days the col- 
lege rooms were heated by stoves, one in each room, 
and in the closet was a supply of coal, laboriously 
carried up from one to three flights of stairs on the backs 
of the coal handlers. In the late autumn, when the campus 
was covered with fallen leaves, it was no uncommon oc- 
currence for fires to start in the leaves in various places 
on the front campus adjoining Hope College. What 
could be the cause } Not freshmen with matches, not 
cigar stubs thrown carelessly away, not crossed electric 
wires. The department of applied domestic science, the 
so-called "slaves," exclusively men in those days, were at 
a loss to account for the phenomenon. However, they 
ran hither and yon to the burning spots with water, 
brooms, shovels and other fire-fighting apparatus and ex- 
tinguished the flames. Who shall say that the classics of 
Greece and Rome are without influence in these prag- 
matical days.f* Why learn of Caesar's sieges with fire 
pouring down on the hide-covered vineae or of Archime- 
des and his burning glass at Syracuse and have those 
classic gems flit before the mind like the " words, words " 
of Hamlet's reading? Let us be practical; practical or 
nothing. At Dotheboys Hall when a lad had learned to 
spell " w-i-n-d-e-r " he was sent out to wash a " winder " so 
that he might not forget what a window was. A shovel- 



Memories of Brown 407 

ful of hot coals thrown from the upper windows of Hope 
would rid the campus of the withered relics of summer. 
To think was to act and the shower of hot coals sown 
broadcast, like the dragon's teeth of Cadmus, sprang up, 
calling forth not only a crop of tiny blazes but a bucket 
and broom brigade as well. The diversion was height- 
ened by the long-continued inability of the " slaves " 
to guess the origin of the flames. Finally the experi- 
ment was interrupted by those " suspenders for college 
breaches," the faculty. 

Later the interest in the subjects of heat and light took 
the form of burning mattresses on the concrete near the 
pump at the east side of Hope. Many a piece of old ex- 
celsior bedding, many a gallon of Standard oil upraised 
the torch of knowledge to the admiring gaze of an enthu- 
siastic gallery in the windows of the old dormitory. 
" Heads out, heads out !" A mattress on fire near the 
pump ! Enter the servi with brooms and buckets. Tre- 
mendous applause and cries of " Good for you, Antone ! " 
"Ah, there, Jordan!" " Another bucket, Dan ! " " Ki yi, 
Graham ! " The zeal on the part of the student-body 
was not confined to cheering, horn-blowing and chafifing. 
No firemen were more active and from every window 
within range there issued mugfuls, dipperfuls, pailfuls of 
HoO. What if the concrete should ignite, the iron pump 
catch fire or the well itself should burn? Unfortunately 
some of the water missed the fire and soaked the ser- 
vants. 

Upon one occasion a young man then preparing for 
the ministry, a faithful soldier of the cross who has since 
carried the message of his Master beyond the sea to east- 
ern lands, was reading his Bible and planning his talk to 
the prayer meeting. He did not even look out of his 
window nor take any notice of current events so absorbed 
was he in his work. Suddenly there was a sharp rap on 



408 Memories of Brown 

the hall door opposite his fourth-floor room ; then a per- 
emptory knock on his own door. A furious water-soaked 
man sprang in " I want to look at your water pail." " It's 
in the closet." The servant finding it empty addressed 
the minister in bitter terms as no gentleman, a fit candi- 
date for college discipline. There was no chance for ex- 
planation. Our missionary listened a minute in wonder, 
amazement and finally with rising indignation. The stu- 
dents from across the hall appeared at the door. They 
saw the missionary's fist palpitating close beneath the ser- 
vant's nose and they heard in the most direct and un- 
equivocal English that the servant who came up there 
again and insulted a man who did not even then know 
what the trouble was about would go down much quicker 
than he came up (three steps at a time). The men 
across the hall had thrown the water which had inflamed 
the servant instead of extinguishing the fire. 

Somebody has said, speaking of phrenology, " You 
can't tell any more what is inside a man's head by the 
bumps outside than you can tell what is inside a bureau 
drawer by feeling of the knobs." Certainly an empty 
water pail did not prove a man guilty. The blameless 
parson received the blast of wrath and the amused cul- 
prits escaped behind his burning indignation. How 
many such a picture hangs in the dim background of the 
old college man's memory. Today he may be poor and 
obscure if perchance his life has been tossed on stormy 
seas. He may clutch at the baubles of fame and wear 
many a wreath not without its thorns, he may bask in 
prosperity's smile the gilded captive of conventionality 
and circumstance, But what memories are dearer, what 
friendships more fondly enshrined than those of his col- 
lege days ? 

Arthur C. Barrows, i88^. 



Memories of Brown 409 

Anecdotes of the Faculty in 
Dr. Robinson's Time 



DR. ROBINSON'S baccalaureate sermons attracted 
unusually large congregations. I have been pres- 
ent at all these services, except one, from 1877 
up to the time of this writing. There are many 
who will remember his last farewell sermon to the graduat- 
ing class in the First Baptist Meeting-house. The church 
was crowded, with all the standing room taken, and a great 
many people were unable to enter the edifice. The day 
was looked forward to with much interest by the com- 
munity and friends of the college, because it was to be 
the last time he would speak to any class in an official 
capacity. 

Whenever President Robinson was called upon to de- 
liver public addresses he always commanded the most 
profound attention of his audiences. His sentences were 
delivered with such precision of thought and incisiveness 
of utterance as to indicate that back of all this lay a firm- 
ness of convicticn and a nobility of character such as few 
men possessed, and which served to add weight and dig- 
nity to his speech. 

Dr. T. Edwin Brown, pastor of the First Baptist 
Church for many years during President Robinson's ad- 
ministration, who lived upon terms of intimate friendship 
with him and well understood the great heart which he 
possessed, gives the following reminiscences which illus- 
trate his true character. 



4 1 Memories of Brown 

" One bitterly cold Saturday night, Rev. James M. Tay- 
lor — now President Taylor of Vassar College — and my- 
self were in Manning Hall at a meeting of the New Eng- 
land Conference of the College Christian Association. 
Dr. Robinson sat just behind us. At the close of the 
service he leaned forward, put a hand on each man's 
shoulder, and said, ' Boys, it's a cold night. I have a 
rousing fire in my study grate. Come over and toast 
your shins awhile.' 

" In that study I once saw the doctor wasting his time 
playing with a kitten and a string. 

" At the close of a baccalaureate service I said to one of 
the members of the class, ' That was a great appeal straight 
from his great brain and heart to yours.' ' Yes,' was the 
answer, ' and I tell you, sir, there is not a member of the 
class who does not love him.' ' Has anybody told him 
that ? ' ' Oh, no,' was the reply, ' not one of us would dare 
to tell him.' ' Then I will. He ought to know.' I told 
him, as we walked up the hill together. The tears in his 
eyes, the quiver in his voice, the pleased look that played 
a moment over his weary, hungry face revealed his deep 
pleasure in the tidings I had brought. He had a great 
heart, though its expression in any ordinary way had been 
diligently suppressed during most of his public life." 

One experience of President Robinson illustrated well 
the virtues of advertising. There are many still living in 
Providence who will recollect it, for the incident was 
much commented upon at the time. It was all the result 
of a small advertisement in a somewhat obscure position 
in the Providence Journal. 

President Robinson, it will be remembered, was a man 
of large frame, rather spare and with a dignified bearing. 
He occupied the old president's house, later used as a col- 
lege refectory, at the head of College street. Very early 
one morning he was awakened by the barking and yelp- 



1 



Memories of Brown 411 

ing of dogs outside. This continued with increasing ve- 
hemence, but he thought httle about it at first, although 
the noise began finally to annoy him. While dressing he 
heard the door-bell ring, and received word that a man 
with several dogs said that he had been sent for by Presi- 
dent Robinson, who had expressed a desire to purchase 
two fine dogs. The animals were in the hall awaiting his 
inspection. As the dogs began to make a disturbance 
the doctor hurried down stairs. 

" Are these all right ? " asked the man holding forward 
two of the yelping canines. " Will these do ? " The 
president did not know what the man meant. He 
thoroughly disliked dogs at that particular moment, and 
was in no mood to welcome the two growling curs sniffing 
about his heels. 

Straightening his form, he asked with impressive dig- 
nity, " What do you mean, sir? " 

" Why, here are the dogs," answered the man ; " the 
dogs you wanted." 

" I do not care for dogs, sir. What do you mean by 
bringing them to my house 1 " 

" I brought them in answer to this advertisement," said 
the man, " Maybe you didn't put this advertisement in 
the Journal this morning, asking for dogs to this address. 
You're president of Brown University, ain't you?" he 
asked with sudden suspicion. 

" I am," answered Dr. Robinson, growing more dignified, 
every moment, as he thought of the young men under his 
charge, and of the mischief of which they were capable, if 
given the opportunity. 

"Well," said the man with the dogs, " How about it? 
Do you want them dogs, or don't you ? " 

" No sir," said the president, " I do not wish to have 
those dogs. I did not put in the advertisement, to which 
my name appears signed, and I do not know who did put 



412 



Memories of Brown 



it in. I would very much like to know who did and I 
propose to ascertain, if possible. I regret that you have 
been caused trouble and misunderstanding by some prac- 
tical joker, and I wish you a very good day, sir." 




Professor Albert Harkness, 1842 



But that did not end it. Before the man had left the 
house, another, holding a number of dogs, was on the 
front porch, and so it went, all day long. More than one 
hundred dogs of all breeds and colors were brought there. 



Memories of Brow?t 4 1 3 

and before night President Robinson almost wished the 
Journal had never been published. I do not remember 
that the perpetrator of the jest was ever discovered by the 
irate president. 

A young man who had a very high opinion of his 
ability came to Brown and took the entrance examination 
in Latin. A few days later he met Professor Lincoln on 
the campus and said, " Well, Professor did I pass the ex- 
amination ? " The abruptness of the question so surprised 
the professor that he involuntarily replied " Yes " and then 
added, " What is your name ? " 

" My name is A.," said the young man, " I knew I would 
pass, for I mastered Latin in six months." 

" Well," exclaimed Professor Lincoln, " I am glad you 
told me, for you have not had sufficient preparation to 
enter college work, and I will see that your name is not 
on the list of the entering class." 

During a recitation conducted by Professor Lincoln, a 
student while reciting became very much interested in 
something going on outside of the classroom, and in 
order to see to better advantage he leaned out of the win- 
dow. On looking around the room again he was sur- 
prised to find every eye in the room fixed upon him, and 
everyone, including the professor, laughing at him. 

" Well, Mr. B., what is it ? " inquired Professor Lincoln. 

" Oh, nothing, except Barnum's circus is passing," re- 
plied the student. 

" Then, perhaps, I had better dismiss the class," said 
the professor ; and he did. 

One day while the students were entering Professor 
Lincoln's classroom they brought in a small dog. There 
were several empty chairs in the room, and the dog being 
well trained helped himself to one of the chairs. The 
professor proceeded to call the roll as usual and when he 



414 Memories of Brown 

came to the last one he remarked, " Gentlemen, there is 
one more puppy, and if you will conduct yourselves as 
orderly as this one you will have nothing to fear." 

Professor Harkness was hardly of middle height, but a 
trifle taller than Professor Lincoln, and somewhat slower 
in his movements. He was always polite and pleasant in 
his manner. One peculiarity which characterized his 
everyday manner more than another was when a discus- 
sion arose between members of the class. Then he 
would invariably raise his hand, remove his glasses and 
with a genial smile remark, " Well, what does the class 
think about it?" 

During a recitation in Greek the professor was explain- 
ing some part of the text, when a student said, " I don't 
agree with you, professor ; I think it means so and so." 

" Well," said the professor, after regarding the young 
man attentively a moment or two, " You may be right, I 
may not know Greek, but the corporation pays me to 
teach Greek ; I have been teaching it for thirty years or 
more, and I supposed I knew something about the sub- 
ject. Mr. B., it will be necessary for you to see the presi- 
dent before you can proceed in this class." The student, 
who had felt a growing desire to sink through the floor, 
humbly and noiselessly made his way to the door. 

Along in the seventies it was customary at the close of 
the chapel exercises for each professor to march at the 
head of his class to the recitation-room. One day the 
freshmen carried out a well-laid plan for playing a joke on 
Professor Clarke, which they hoped would result in their 
securing a " cut." During the time the chapel exercises 
were going on a few of the freshmen, who had previously 
been chosen for the task, carefully filled the keyhole to 
the door of Professor Clarke's recitation-room, so that the 
lock could not be turned. Unfortunately for the success 



Memories of Brown 4 1 5 

of their scheme, those who had filled the keyhole, together 
with the members of the sophomore class who were in 
the secret of the joke and were proceeding to their 
recitation on the floor above, remained in the hallway to 
see the discomfiture of the professor. This was a mistake, 
for as soon as Professor Clarke approached the door and 
saw them standing there, he took in the situation at a 
glance and correctly surmising that the door could not be 
unlocked he did not attempt to unlock it, or even send for 
the steward, but without a moment's hesition raised his 
foot and sent the door flying open. The students then 
meekly followed the professor into the room, their chance 
for a " cut " and their well-planned joke having been frus- 
trated by the ready intuition and prompt action of their 
intended victim. 

Professor Bancroft walked in a very erect manner, head 
well up and somewhat thrown back. This carriage of his 
body, together with his cleanly shaved chin and flowing 
side-whiskers well spread out, presented a unique and 
well-defined aspect as his head appeared above the brow 
of the hill ascending College street and approaching the 
campus. This aspect was not misleading. It was a 
human landmark of College-street life. It was impossible 
at any distance to assign that head to any one else. Un- 
questionably it belonged to Bancroft, the fastidious, the 
neat, the precise, the carefully spoken professor of rheto- 
ric and oratory. This bearing was entirely natural to the 
man ; there was no affectation whatever in any one of 
these individualities which distinguished him. 

Professor Bancroft's rehearsals in the classes in elocu- 
tion and oratory were very attractive, especially to those 
who had only to listen. It was customary for the student 
to stand upon the platform and recite, while the professor 
sat at a distance at one end of the room. His favorite 



416 



Memories of Brown 



exercise was the following quotation, which I have often 
heard. The student would slowly raise his arms to their 
full extent, then pause a moment, and slowly dropping 
them would at the same time repeat these words with 
much energy : " Living, we shall be victorious ; or, dying, 



Vi^i 




Reuben Aldridge Guild, 1847. University Librarian, 1848-93 
(Taken about 1887) 



our death will be glorious." Often these words could be 
heard over the entire building. 

One of the men who added much of character to the 
university and seemed as much of the college as Univer- 
sity Hall itself, was the librarian, Reuben Aldridge Guild, 
whom I soon came to know most thoroughly and whose 
friendship was outspoken and unfailing. Dr. Guild had 



Memories of Brown 417 

been Brown's librarian for upwards of twenty-five years 
when I first came to know him, and I soon observed the 
lively interest he manifested in the students who were en- 
gaged in searching for books or pamphlets. He appeared 
only too glad to assist them, and gave one the impression 
that nothing pleased him better than to aid in the search. 
He had a very pleasing social disposition and was kindly 
and genial to all. He appeared uncommonly glad to 
greet returning graduates, and upon their taking leave he 
would frequently, with bared head, accompany them down 
the long flight of steps to the sidewalk. When the new 
library building was dedicated in 1878, Mr. Guild with 
Professor Diman and his assistant, Mr. Daniel Beckwith, 
all with heads uncovered, in formal solemn procession 
carried a superb and rare edition of the Polyglot Bible 
from the old library in Manning Hall to the new building, 
and placed it as book number one, referring to it as " The 
book of books, the embodiment of true wisdom and the 
fountain-head of real culture, civilization and moral im- 
provement." 

The very arduous work of classifying and cataloguing 
the 48,000 volumes in the new structure was accomplished 
almost entirely by Dr. Guild himself. He designed and 
brought to great perfection a card catalogue, by means of 
which he could at once turn to any book desired. At the 
time of the construction of the new building he devoted 
considerable time to examining European libraries, both 
for their constructive features and for their methods of 
cataloguing. His method was so far in advance of the 
time that he justly felt proud of his achievement. His 
services as librarian and librarian emeritus covered more 
than fifty years of the university's life. 

Before Dr. Andrews became president and while he 
was serving the college as professor of history and politi- 



418 Memories of B, 



rown 



cal economy, an incident occurred which impressed itself 
strongly upon my mind by reason of its being of an extra- 
ordinary character and containing a call to service very 
different from that which I had been accustomed to per- 
form. One day while Professor Andrews was conducting 
a written examination in Manning Hall, I chanced to 
pass the window of the classroom as I was about my 
usual employment, when he opened a window and asked 
me to find a professor to take his class during the exami- 
nation, for he was suddenly called away from the city by 
a telegram, and it was imperative that he should at once 
leave. I replied that all the instructors at that hour were 
engaged with their classes. He then astonished me with 
the request that I at once come in and occupy his chair, 
conducting the written examination to its conclusion. 
In view of the emergency I promptly acceded, although I 
never before had heard of one being called to conduct a 
college examination whose only requirements upon enter- 
ing had been the knowledge of how to make an indiffer- 
ent bed and to raise the dust generally. With much un- 
certainty I took my seat and at the same time Professor 
Andrews said to the class: "I am immediately called 
away and I have the utmost confidence in your integrity 
during the remainder of the examination." The stillness 
during the two long hours that I sat there was most op- 
pressive. The confidence Dr. Andrews placed in the 
class was not forfeited. At the close of the examination 
each student walked up to the desk where I sat, and with 
a half smile quietly handed me his paper and walked out. 
In 1889 at the alumni dinner one of the greatest ova- 
tions ever witnessed at the after-dinner speeches occurred 
when E. Benjamin Andrews was named for president of 
the college. All the alumni sprang to their feet, some 
even stood upon the tables, sending their hats high up in 
air, dishes fell to the floor and broke in pieces, and cheer 



Memories of Br 0W71 419 

after cheer continued until it was with great difficulty 
that President Robinson was able to maintain order long 
enough to sing the closing hymn. At the close there was 
an informal gathering held in the faculty-room to arrange 
for a meeting of the trustees to formulate a call. It was 
manifest that beyond a doubt Dr. Andrews was the unan- 
imous choice of the alumni. 

This profound regard and esteem of both students and 
alumni were exhibited throughout all his administration 
and were shown to be undiminished when he returned 
from Nebraska to address the school-teachers' convention 
of New England, held in Infantry Hall years later. Then 
nearly the whole college was present. All the standing 
room was occupied long before the hour arrived. When 
he came on the platform all in the body of the hall arose and 
greeted him with tremendous and long-continued ap- 
plause, so that he was compelled to beckon to the audi- 
ence to be seated before he could proceed with his ad- 
dress. It is safe to say that in the history of the college 
there never was a greater demonstration given to any one 
alumnus. Hundreds of people were unable to enter the 
hall. At the close of the exercises and upon the return 
of the procession to the college campus, College street for 
its entire length was packed with enthusiastic spectators, 
and fireworks lighted up the beautiful arched elms, mak- 
ing a never-to-be-forgotton sight. 

A^ithony McCabe. 



420 Memories of Brown 



Bell and Bonfire 



WE never knew exactly how it happened. Sud- 
denly, at midnight, the wild clanging of the bell 
brought us all to the windows. Wonderment 
stood upon the faces of all except the conspira- 
tors. We learned from subsequent events that certain 
prominent individuals were involved, viz., Ezekiel G., 
" Stinger " Simmons, and his boon companion, Charlie 
Farnsworth, other unimportant individuals, and last but 
not least, his lordship, Delaney, the steward. Meanwhile 
the bell kept pealing. Nobody seemed to know how it 
rang. Against the dark outline of the sky could be dis- 
cerned the still darker outline of the belfry on University 
Hall, with the bell tongue swinging back and forth as 
though driven by invisible demons of the nether regions. 
Obviously no human hand was touching the bell. Ob- 
viously, too, as Delaney discovered after rushing up to the 
top story, the door leading to the belfry had not been tam- 
pered with. And still the bell kept ringing. The un- 
lighted corridors of University Hall were filled with 
flitting, white-clad figures, who added to the uproar by 
various ejaculations of mingled wonder, mirth and ex- 
ultation. 

What could it all mean ? Even Ezekiel's tranquil mind 
became finally disturbed. Quoth he, " My sturdy hench- 
man, Delaney, is derelict in his duty ; forsooth, since he 
cannot quell this horrid tumult, it is up to me ! " Hastily 
clothing his gaunt stature in his ordinary black raiment, 
our honored and yet dreaded president hastily strode 



1 



Memories of Brown Al\ 

across the campus, entered the south door of University 
Hall, and hurried up three flights with the agility of a 
schoolboy. He was upon the rejoicing students before 
they were aware, and surprising was the rapidity with 
which they vanished away at his quiet yet stern admoni- 
tion to betake themselves to their rooms. The bell 
chimed merrily all the while, but sleuth Delaney, trained 
to expert and intuitive investigation by many years of 
contact with tricky students, was hot upon the trail. 
Urged on by the presence of the greater mind, he finally 
ascended the interior of the belfry tower and was not long 
in discovering the cause of the midnight acclamation. 
A stout rope around the tongue of the bell gave him the 
clue. The conspirators in a room at the other end of the 
rope, sharply on the alert, quickly discovered that their 
ruse had been detected. Nothing was left to be done ex- 
cept to cut the rope and thereby efface the source of the 
noise-producing power. The ringing stopped immedi- 
ately, the students dispersed to their rooms; " Prexy" re- 
turned to bed, restored to his usual lofty tranquility, 
and Delaney, carefully preserving the cut rope, followed 
suit. 

" All 's well that ends well " is no less true than " All 's 
wrong that ends wrong." The latter adage became pain- 
fully evident within the next few days. Like a hound fol- 
lowing up the trail of a guilty roost-robbing fox, Delaney 
speedily discovered that the rope had been purchased at 
the hardware store of Congdon, Carpenter & Co., on 
North Main street. The purchaser was easily identified, 
and "Stinger" Simmons was politely requested to hold 
a private conference in President Robinson's office. Be- 
ing confronted with the unmistakable proofs of his roguery, 
the student frankly confessed that he was the purchaser 
of the rope and had taken active part in the clandestine 
event. He was immediately suspended from college. 



422 Memories of Brown 

His fellow-students in the class of '89 felt that Simmons 
was suffering a vicarious punishment, because others 
were equally responsible. The day after the suspension, 
in class meeting, they voted to withdraw from participa- 
tion in morning prayers in Manning Hall, until justice 
was done to their suffering classmate. So the next morn- 
ing, " Prexy " prayed to empty seats, so far as '89 was con- 
cerned. Frightened at their own temerity, several of the 
devotion-cutting class hung around in the reading-room 
at the north end of University Hall until prayers were 
over. Some of the college professors were accustomed, 
on the way to their classrooms, to pass between Manning 
Hall and University Hall. Professor Lincoln was among 
these, and as he passed the windows and looked in, he saw 
the culprits. Students in that group will never forget the 
impressive and indignant manner with which Professor 
Lincoln fixed his eye-glasses and glared through the win- 
dows at the offenders. That day he remonstrated pri- 
vately with several prominent members of the class to 
such good result that the following morning '89 was fully 
represented in chapel. 

Little were they aware of the fate yet before them. In- 
stead of passing out in their usual order, they were forced to 
remain behind until the other classes had departed. Then, 
after an impressive interval, Ezekiel arose. It seemed 
as though he would never stop rising. He looked like a 
giant avenger come to vent his wrath upon several gene- 
rations of erring students. Tall in his usual aspect, his 
height now ascended nearly to the ceiling. Throwing 
back his shoulders and putting both hands into his trousers 
pockets, he glared from beneath his bushy eyebrows, from 
eyes that ejected Jove's thunderbolts. Quoth he, in sub- 
stance, " Your classmate was guilty of a serious offence 
against the peace, dignity and quietude of the campus 
and of the surrounding community. For his honesty in 



Memories of Brown 423 

acknowledging his offence, I give him full credit. But 
there were others connected with the same offence, and 
these are acting dishonorably by allowing one man to 
suffer for all. The class is acting wrongly in attempting 
to show, in such manner, their dislike of orfe man's pun- 
ishment. I intend to settle this matter up at once. I 
wish to have a guarantee from you that hereafter you will 
conform to the laws and usages of this university. I com- 
mand every one of you who intends to abide by lawful 
regulations to rise immediately." Struck with astonish- 
ment, the class remained seated in silence. " Up, up, all 
of you ! " quoth the master. The class rose like a flock of 
sheep obeying the dictates of some stern but careful 
shepherd. Even George Warren, the recalcitrant, who 
had been urging, in violent whispers, the boys to remain 
seated, finally gave way to the overpowering mesmerism 
of the black-garbed giant before him, and stood up with 
the rest. 

Partially appeased by the success of his manoeuvre, 
" Prexy " dismissed the class, who departed sad, subdued 
and docile. " Stinger " Simmons was soon after reinstated 
in college, and the episode closed. Whether the other 
culprits confessed their part to the president is a matter 
of some doubt. This most important question, however, 
gave the class no concern. All they cared for was the 
restoration of their suspended classmate. Thus began, 
progressed and eventuated the most dramatic episode in 
the history of the class of '89. 

Augustus T. Swift, 188 g. 



424 



Memories of Brown 



Rushes, Fires and Signs 




in 1886, under the administration 
3f President Robinson, the freshmen 
lad a number of clashes with the sopho- 
mores after a fiercely contested ball 
rush at the Messer-street grounds, 
which resulted in a tie. There ex- 
isted between these classes from 
the beginning a state of hostility 
which manifested itself upon 
every possible occasion. 

Soon after this hard-fought 
football contest a banner was sus- 
pended from one of the windows 
of Hope College upon which were pictured two bulls, one 
with head well elevated, indicating victory; the other fall- 
en in defeat and lying in the dust. Upon the vanquished 
bull were painted in vivid red the figures " '89," while 
upon the victor was inscribed " '90." 

This banner so publicly displayed was plainly an invi- 
tation to the livliest sort of scrap. No warm-blooded 
sophomore would ever permit a banner so destructive to 
his peace of mind long to remain unfurled. The class at 
once assembled and with equal promptness planned an 
assault. Regardless of all personal consequences of 
crushed hats or damaged chins they rushed to the charge 
with the utmost vigor and boldness. The freshmen were 
looking for the assault and held themselves in readiness 
to respond to the first alarm, and fought with great perti- 



Memories of Brown 425 

nacity to retain in position this symbol of victory. But 
the onslaught of the sophomores was too vigorous and 
well sustained to meet with defeat. No amount of oppo- 
sition would prevent them securing the banner which 
flaunted so defiantly in their very eyes. In a few 
moments it was reached and torn to shreds. 

The warm blood of both classes by this time was cours- 
ing through their veins and all were ready to continue 
the struggle with but slight provocation. A portiere rod 
was thrown from the window from which floated the 
hated banner ; this became the signal for a cane rush 
which was fought over with equal persistence from be- 
neath the windows of Hope down along the walks to Uni- 
versity Hall before the rod was finally broken into many 
pieces. 

A student who was delinquent in his studies and was 
just returning from an interview with the president in his 
office in University Hall came upon the rush just at its 
height. He loved nothing better than a fracas of this 
character and with much energy precipitated himself into 
the struggle. This student was very near-sighted and did 
not observe the approach of the president, who had come 
upon the scene to learn the cause of the commotion and 
at once proceeded to restore order. He grasped the first 
young man he came to, who proved to be the delinquent. 
By reason of his poor vision, combined with the excitement 
of the rush, he failed to recognize the president, and believ- 
ing him to be one of the opposing forces fiercely struggled 
to throw his venerable opponent to the ground. The doc- 
tor, panting for breath, said, " Young man ! " which 
brought him up with a severe mental jar, realizing the 
critical position in which he was placed. Quickly releas- 
ing his grasp, he permitted the president to assume his 
wonted dignity. 

Grasping the young man by the ear (and, as the doctor 



426 Memories of Brown 

was tall and the student of lesser height, the latter was 
obliged to walk upon his toes), the president led the of- 
fender into his ofilice, which they had so recently left. It 
is needless to add that as soon as the president was recog- 
nized both classes took to their heels ; but their haste did 
not prevent vociferous hilarity over the unfortunate plight 
of the delinquent student, as he was led ignominiously 
away. 

One night a mattress was well saturated with oil and 
thrown all ablaze from a window in Hope College, so en- 
dangering the venerable structure that the edict went 
forth that there were to be no more fires, and anyone 
detected in this pastime would be summarily dealt with. 
Notwithstanding this, a few of the bolder students com- 
bined and bought an old covered express-wagon in a 
nearby city and filled it with combustibles. 

The police had been instructed to keep a close watch 
upon all entrances to the campus and to arrest any- 
one seen bringing in firewood. As the covered team 
came through the gate upon the campus long after night- 
fall the driver told the officer whom he met that he had a 
trunk to deliver. Driving over near Sayles Hall he 
thoroughly soaked both the wagon and its contents with 
a large amount of kerosene oil that he had concealed 
within, then unhitching his horse he applied the match 
and quickly led his beast out through the gate into 
George street. The boys had very thoughtfully driven 
corks into all water faucets. The fire assumed great 
proportions with rapidity. The "slaves" quickly gathered 
and formed a bucket brigade, but the water refused to 
flow, and amid the derisive shouts of the students the 
flame mounted into the branches of the large elm in front 
of Sayles Hall and finally burned itself out. 



Memories of Brown All 

Souvenir-collecting is and always has been a peculiar 
fad of college students, and the merchants of Providence 
and nearby cities are well aware of this fact as far as 
Brown is concerned. Certain students had an avaricious 
eye on several of the large clocks or watches such as were 
used for advertising purposes and were attached to the awn- 
ing supports in front of jewelry and watch repairing stores. 
The blizzard of 1888 presented an exceptional oppor- 
tunity to accomplish what had seemed an impossibility 
as the owners had taken special precaution to have their 
property well secured and firmly fastened in view of just 
such pranks. 

During this storm of uncommon severity everyone had 
vanished from sight and the streets were as devoid of life 
as Pompeii is to-day. The officers of the law were either 
concealed in protecting doorways or even better sheltered 
in warm places that they alone were aware of and kept in 
reserve. There was no danger of discovery upon a 
night like this. All that was needed was to force down 
the awning rods and easily detach the coveted prizes. 
Their number was limited only by the strength of the 
students in bearing them away. These relics were 
wrapped in newspapers, taken up to the college and 
concealed under the steward's work-bench and well 
covered with shavings. 

Upon the return to their places of business the follow- 
ing morning the proprietors found these emblems of their 
industry missing. Upon closer inspection the bent and 
broken awning rods were discovered. In view of the 
well-known collecting habits of Brown men, suspicion was 
at once directed towards them. Complaint was promptly 
made and the search officially begun. Closets were ran- 
sacked, mattresses lifted off the beds, chimney flues 
peeped into and every suspected spot, possible and im- 
possible as a hiding place for the missing signs, was 



428 



Memories of Brown 



thoroughly searched, but no clocks were found. Ap- 
parently none of the searchers were sufftciently brilliant 
to imagine that the lost articles were concealed in the 
headquarters of the steward himself. After the young 
men had graduated and each had received his coveted de- 
gree, these mementoes of the youthful exuberance of un- 




Brown Union 
(Rockefeller Hall) 



derclassmen were returned to their rightful owners by the 
purloiners. 



Fred Hovey of the class of 1890 (afterwards the na- 
tional champion at Newport) was in the tennis tourna- 
ment at New Haven and word was telegraphed to the 



Memories of Brown 429 

students of Brown of the great contest and the victori- 
ous result. They soon assembled and started down the 
hill accompanied by horns and the college band, to the 
station to await the arrival of the midnight train from 
New Haven. President Andrews was rudely awakened 
from sleep by this commotion, which he plainly recog- 
nized as proceeding from a great and enthusiastic assem- 
blage of students. Hastily dressing and appearing at his 
door, he inquired what the confusion was all about. 
" You had better all disperse to your rooms and prepare 
your lessons for to-morrow," he said. When informed of 
the great achievement, so creditable to the skill of the col- 
lege representative, he laughed and remarked, " Well, it is 
glorious news," and retired into the house. 

One day in the classroom a student who was well- 
known by the college authorities to be a mischief-maker 
and who made use of every opportunity to create disturb- 
ances asked President Andrews, " Now, doctor, as re- 
gards the Ego : how am I to know that it is I myself w^ho 
am sitting here in this chair ? " The doctor looked at 
him for a moment and then remarked, " Well Mr. B., 
where were you last night? " " In my own bed at home," 
replied Mr. B. " I am very glad to hear it," said the presi- 
dent. 

Another time in ethics Mr. J., having asked the doctor 
what he thought about a certain proposition, and having 
tried to explain his own views in a long and intricate ar- 
gument, the president replied, "Well, if I understand 
what you are talking about, I should say Yes — No." 
The applause resulting was so vociferous that the doctor 
as well as the student indicated his embarrassment. 

Jerome B. Greene, i8go. 



430 Memories of Brown 



Brown in the Later Eighties 



WH EN the class of 1890 entered Brown in the fall of 
1886 it found the college an institution of modest 
externals. There was no clock tower or Caesar 
Augustus statue on the front campus, no mem- 
orial fence or gates, no Rockefeller Hall, no Wilson Hall, 
no John Carter Brown Library on the middle campus, 
no steam-heating plant or mechanical laboratory, no gym- 
nasium, no Marcus Aurelius statue, no Maxcy Hall, 
no engineering building, no Caswell Hall, no Bruno- 
nia Hall, no chapter-houses, no president's mansion on 
Hope street, no Ladd Observatory, no Metcalf Botanical 
Gardens. The college, in a word, consisted of the library, 
the five buildings of the old front row, the chemical lab- 
oratory and Sayles Hall. For our gymnasium exercise we 
had to march ten parasangs, more or less, to Aborn street. 
Lincoln Field in those days, unadorned by buildings as 
it was, was a perpetual delight. Andrews Field is more 
spacious but grievously remote. In the late eighties, it was 
not necessary to leave one's room for the field until the 
exact hour for the advertised game had arrived. Then 
you took your window-seat cushion under your arm and 
walked leisurely to the grandstand, sure of a comfortable 
sitting. And if St. Stephen's Church was too close to 
centrefield, nobody within historic times had ever seen a 
batter bang a ball over it. There was a tradition that in 
the prehistoric past a Yale player had accomplished the 
feat, but this was a tradition as vague and uncertain as 
the Homeric legend. 

None of the buildings or rooms of the late eighties re- 



Memories of Brown 431 

vert to mind with a greater store of gracious memories 
than the bare old chapel. If it is true that we prize what 
costs us an effort, surely we all prize Manning Hall, for it 
cost us effort, breath and good digestion to compass its 
interior on many a hurried morning. 

Plain as that interior was, we cannot think of it disso- 
ciated from cheerful reminiscence. The central figure 
was President Robinson, tall and lean in his lofty pulpit. 
Over its faded green fringe he hung like an offended di- 
vinity, swaying in rhythm with his utterance, which was 
a strange commingling of the strong and sweet. Was 
ever a greater dignity or severity in mortal frame, or a 
livelier light in mortal eye? One frequent phrase from 
that diminutive boxed-in pulpit strikes soft on the ear of 
memory today : " Make Thy forbearance win our hearts 
to Thee ! " 

President Robinson was at the head of the college dur- 
ing three of the four years of 1890's life on the hill, but I 
do not definitely recall speaking with him. He seemed re- 
mote, a being of a different world. Bela Carlyle Clapp of 
'90 was called to interview him, however. It was some- 
thing about cuts. " Young man," said Dr. Robinson, 
"You can't eat your gingerbread and have it too." 
Clapp's voice was second bass ; nethermost and full. " I 
believe I've heard that before," he told the president with 
jovial acquiescence. 

Professor Packard united extraordinary biological at- 
tainments with extraordinary indifference to discipline. 
It was customary for men to enter his recitations late, 
and leave before the hour was up. The most he ever said 
by way of comment was, "Some are coming, some are go- 
ing." He gave oral instead of written examinations, as- 
signing a single topic to each member of the class. This 
was all right if you happened to be " up " on the topic 



432 



Memories of Brown 



that fell to you ; otherwise it was embarrassing. One 

day just before examination W came along. The 

bell for the hour had rung. " What's it all about ? " 
asked he. " I've been so busy I haven't had time to cram 
up on this." "Know anything about snakes?" I asked, 




Bicycle Club, 1887 

From left to right on wheels : F. H. Brownell, '88 ; J. E. Bullen, '90 ; R. L. P. Mason, '89 ; 

E. Y. WooLLEY, "88 ; L. C. Heywood, '90 ; F. H. Briggs, '89 ; G. E. Warren, '89, in tree. 

Standing : J. P. Williams, '89 : F. H. Hovey, '90 ; G. H. Crooker, '87, Captain ; 

W. S. Pease, '89 ; F. H. Mansfield, '89 ; E. T. Root, '89. 



" No." " Well, here's what my notebook says. Listen." 

A few minutes later Professor Packard called W up. 

" Mr. W ," he said, " you may tell us what you know 

about snakes." W made a star recitation, of course, 

but when the professor reached me fortune turned a chil- 
lier shoulder. 



Memories of Brown 433 

Professor Bancroft described to us one day in senior 
year the beauties of the Enghsh sunset. We were read- 
ing the Idylls of the King, and had come to this line : 

" The glooming crimson on the marge." 

" There," he exclaimed, putting down his book and 
taking off his glasses. " That is one of the most perfect 
descriptions of the English sunset in literature. ' The 
glooming crimson on the marge.' We don't have it in 
America, but I have often seen the effect in England. 
It's a beautiful line." 

" But, Professor," spoke up a member of the class, 
" doesn't it say these people had just waked up? How 
do you account for that ? " 

'' Where, where, where is that ? ' asked the professor in 
great agitation. " Impossible ! But, well, I declare, you 
are right. I never noticed it before." 

It was an English sunrise. 

One day in Professor Bancroft's recitation Presbrey 
convulsed the class. He was telling about a visit paid by 
Wycherley to Congreve. " And Wycherley," he recited 
in slow, impressive tones (he, too, had a second-bass 
voice, and sang on the glee club), "and Wycherley told 
Congreve a very funny story (pause for several seconds 
— class expectant); which I have forgotten." 

Nobody has put into this book, I think, anything about 
Howard Malcolm Ticknor, but he deserves his little niche 
along with the rest. He was our instructor in elocution, 
a cultured gentleman from Boston and Harvard with an 
unforgettable face. He had keen, restless eyes, hair that 
marvellously curled, and more than his fair share of effec- 
tive sarcasm. It was on the first day of June that our 
section of the class was called to meet him. He had 
categorically barred all "pieces" about "heroes" whose 



434 



Memories of Brown 



names end in " us," such as Horatius and Brutus; and I 
had chosen for this particular date, especially as I had 
long known it by heart, Lowell's prelude to the Vision of 
Sir Launfal. It was hackneyed, but it was all about June, 
and I thought it would go. It did, but not as I expected. 




Colby, '89 
Colby, '91 



Banjo Club, 1888 
Simmons, '89 Hovey, '90 Heiser, '90 

Chapin, '91 Hazard, '89 Sawyer, '90 



When I had stepped down from the little platform in 6 
U. H. and gone to my seat, Instructor Ticknor sat in por- 
tentous silence at the far end of the room, chin in hand. 
It seemed as if he would never say anything, but at last 
he began, amid a profound quiet and with startling delib- 
eration and emphasis. This was the verdict : 



Memories of Brown ^^5 



"Your taste in choosing that poem for today was excel- 
lent ; but (and here he made a dreadful pause) your enun- 
ciation was execrabhr 

That is all I remember about Howard Malcolm Tick- 
nor. 

In those days the college was so small we knew the 
name of almost every undergraduate — his whole name, 
as, for instance, Benaiah Longley Whitman, Eli Whitney 
Blake, Jr., Vernon Purinton Squires. And yet, small as 
it was, it was sharply divided by secret society lines. A 
fraternity man was under suspicion among his own society 
brothers if he kept company with the members of another 
fraternity. It was felt that one's own society — we did 
not call them "frats"in those days — ought to be good 
enough for him. This exclusiveness had its disadvan- 
tages, but its advantages also. There was a strong family 
feeling among the members of a society ; the chapter-hall 
was home in a sense that no place on the campus was ; 
the upperclassmen exercised a powerful and wholesome 
influence on the younger men. I remember one moonlit 
night when. Crawford, '87, walked me round and round 
the campus and showed me, much against my will, that 
because of. inter-fraternity politics, I could not go on the 
Brunonian board that spring. As I look back, his tone 
and that of others of the seniors in dealing with freshmen 
was distinctly paternal. There was nothing incongruous 
in it, to us, then, though the three years that separated 
the two classes seem a trivial interval now. 

There was a breaking-down of fraternity barriers in 
senior year, when some of us who for three years had be- 
longed to rival societies began to see much of one another 
and to call one another by our Christian names. As 
I revert to those undergraduate days, senior year seems 
far the best, and largely because of this widened fellow- 



436 



Memories of Brown 



ship. If this is an indictment of the fraternity system, let 
him who chooses " make the most of it." It seems to me 
that the fraternity system has justified itself, especially 
when it has exercised a disciplinary influence on under- 
classmen ; but it ought to be elastic enough to allow for 
the loyal friendship of kindred souls who may chance in 
the exigencies of the freshman rushing season to become 
separated into hostile camps. 




Sayles Gymnasium, Women's College 



In seeking the ultimate reason for the fascination of 
our college days, I am inclined to think the glamour of 
youth had most to do with it. From eighteen to twenty- 
two the human animal is prone to joy, and we would 
have been light of heart in any circumstances; yet I 
doubt if undergraduates anywhere else, "on the whole 
and in the long run," as President Andrews used to say, 
were one jot or tittle happier than we of Brown. 

Henry Robinson Palmer, i8go. 



Memories of Brown 437 



The Football Rush 



WHEN I entered college in 1886 I found a cus- 
tom prevailing for the sophomore class to 
challenge the incoming freshman class to a 
football rush and, according to this custom, 
the freshmen always accepted the challenge. By the tra- 
ditional rules governing the contest, a member of the 
junior class was chosen by the freshman class to act as its 
second, and a member of the senior class was chosen by 
the sophomore class to perform a similar office. The re- 
spective seconds for the contesting classes had the right 
to participate in the contest if they so desired, or they 
might, on the field of battle, act as commanding generals 
to direct the contest. Prior to the contest the second 
was supposed to meet the class which had chosen him 
and give it such instructions and such counsel as seemed 
necessary and proper. As to the contest itself, I may say 
that it was a trial of strength and endurance between the 
two classes. Every member of each class was supposed 
to show up and take a part in the fight, and woe to any 
man who displayed the white feather. He was marked 
as a coward, lacking every element of bravery and chival- 
ry. So great was the feeling against a quitter or deserter 
that rarely did a member of any class fail to show up on 
the fateful day. A description of the contest may not be 
amiss. 

A day was selected and also a proper place, which was 
usually some public grounds like the Messer-street base- 
ball park. It was always held on public grounds and 



438 



Memories of Brown 



never on the campus. All members of the two contest- 
ing classes, with the seconds chosen to look out for them, 
would leave the campus in moving-vans with great noise 




A College Vista 



and counter-cheering. Upon arrival at the chosen place, 
the seconds would, by a flip of a coin, decide the position 
of each class on the field, at either end of which goal posts 



Memories of Brown 439 

had been previously erected. Choice would be made for 
kick-off, and with one class lined up on one side of the 
field and the other class lined up on the other side, the 
kick-off would start the fray. There was no science used 
and no rules governed the contest. From the time of 
the kick-off until the time fixed for the contest to expire, 
it was a free-for-all fight. The only thing sought to be 
accomplished was to get the ball between the goal posts 
for a touchdown. It could be kicked, pulled, pushed, 
thrown or forced through in any manner whatsoever. 
The only thing was to get it through. During the con- 
test there were many " mix-ups," " scraps " and personal 
encounters, resulting many times in bruises, scratches 
and " beauty marks," such as are received in the pugilis- 
tic ring. At times almost the entire classes would be 
piled up on the ground in one glorious heap, struggling, 
fighting and sometimes, I am ashamed to say, swearing. 
The strenuosity of the contest would have put even 
President Roosevelt to blush. 

The manner in which the fellows dressed was very in- 
teresting. Most of them purchased football jackets, and 
strapped themselves into them so tightly that it was im- 
possible to get hold of them ; some of the fellows stripped 
bare to the waist and greased their arms, back, chest and 
neck in order to elude their opponents. If any fellow 
was foolish enough to wear good clothes into the affray, 
he was obliged to gather up the remnants on the gory 
field of battle at the close of the fight. 

The football rush between the classes of 1891 and 1892 
was the last ever indulged in at Brown. Through the 
concurrent action of the classes of 1892 and 1893, the cus- 
tom was abolished and some milder method adopted to 
settle class supremacy. 

James A. Williams, 18 go. 



440 Memories of Brown 



Hope College Twenty Years Ago 



SOME time late in the eighties there roomed in Hope 
College on the third floor, east side as I remember 
it, a man whom we will call X. He was a most 
serious-minded fellow, purported to be studying for 
the ministry, and was easily within the first group of five 
or six religious workers within the college. At about this 
time amateur photography had taken a hold on people's 
interest, and the camera club, with rooms in the attic of 
the chemical laboratory, was among the most flourishing 
organizations of the college. Each spring the club gave 
an exhibition in Sayles with the projection lantern, throw- 
ing upon the screen what had been considered by compe- 
tent judges the best work of the club members for the 
year. In addition to this, part of the evening's entertain- 
ment was devoted to the display of slides illustrative of 
the funny side of college life, and it was a matter of a good 
deal of interest to the club members to contribute as fully 
as possible to this particular feature of the entertainment. 
With this explanation I will say that one evening I visited 
X.'s room and explained to him that it was to be a feature 
of the next camera club exhibition to display the " haunts 
and homes" of leading members of the college com- 
munity. X. very willingly consented to have his photo- 
graph taken, so with the room made immaculate and he 
sitting at one end of his study table (which, by the way, 
was in the centre of the room) reading a Testament, 
which was held at my suggestion in his hand in order to 
make a better picture, the flashlight was touched off and 



Memories of Brown 



441 



the picture made. The next evening while X. was away 
to keep an appointment, which had been made for him 
with considerable care, his room was surreptitiously en- 
tered, torn up and given the appearance of a first-class 
poker den. One man was placed in the exact position 
that X. had had the evening before, holding, however, in- 
stead of the Testament, a deck of cards. Three other 





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The Class of 1891 
(Fifteen years after) 



men were placed at the table, which was covered with 
poker chips, bottles, cigar stubs and everything at which 
X. would have been most horrified. A flashlight was then 
taken and it required only a little manipulation to remove 
from the plate on which X. figured everything but X. him- 
self, to remove from the second plate the person of the 
man who had sat in X.'s place, and to unite the two plates 
so as to make a slide which showed X. himself in his own 



442 Memories of Brown 

room smoking a cigarette, surrounded by the most un- 
churchly men in the college. At the exhibition at which 
the slide was displayed, X. and his girl occupied front 
seats. I believe X. has never really forgiven me for my 
part in the proceeding, although I am inclined to think 
that, after the first burst of anger was over, he saw the 
funny side of it and was more or less reconciled. 

Up in the third floor of Hope College roomed one of 
the pillars of the college Y. M. C. A., a man who seemed 
to be thoroughly imbued, to the extent even of religiosity, 
with the importance of evangelical work. Down below 
on another floor roomed a man whose interests were all 
in the other direction. Over and over again had the third- 
floor man expostulated with the other because of the error 
of his ways, and as many times had the man of the second 
floor refused to him of the third any right to make him 
the burden of his prayers. But late one night a change of 
heart arrived. Our religious friend heard in the wee sma' 
hours his name repeated over and over again in a very 
uncertain and unsteady way from the ground beneath his 
window. Finally, as he appeared at the window, he was 
greeted with the solemn and pathetic cry, " Pray for me, 
pray for me ! " 

Of all the faculty, Professor , whom we all admired 

in many ways, was said to lose his head the most easily. 
On one occasion there sat down in the front row regularly 
in his classes a very well-behaved and pious youngster 
who was never known on any occasion to have done any- 
thing worse than chew gum in class. The back row, 
however, in that particular class was noted for quite other 

characteristics and gave Professor a good deal of 

trouble. On this occasion the professor was hard at 
work at the blackboard behind his desk when with tre- 
mendous force an apple too old to be of any use for ordi- 
nary purposes struck our well-behaved friend in the front 



1 



Memories of Brown 443 

row in the small of the back. With a start the professor 
looked around and saw that something was wrong and 
that in some way our good friend in front was associated 
with it. Further than that his immediate analysis did not 
go. Yet, with words as full of vigor as he could make 

them, he said, "Mr. (the man in the front row), you 

may leave the room." 

Talking about signs and other confiscated property, 
the most gruesome one of all was for many years in a 
third-story room of Hope College. It was nothing more 
or less than a marble gravestone inscribed to " Little 
Willie." Over a door to another room in the same his- 
torical college there was a sign taken from the corridor 
of the city hall, reading as follows : " Applicants for aid 
please apply at the door opposite." 

Edwin G. Dexter, i8gi. 



444 



Memories of Brown 



A Conflict of Jurisdictions 




UST before the beginning- of 
gymnasium practice, the 
writer sprained his ankle. 
Work in the gymnasium 
seemed out of the question, 
so the chairman of the excuse 
committee was visited, who, 
after hearing the statement 
of the case, rephed, " Your 
reason is good and I beheve your request to be excused 
from practice will be granted, but you will have to see 

Dr. , who is in charge and has jurisdiction over all such 

cases." When the case was presented to Dr. ■ , his re- 
ply was somewhat as follows : " A most excellent reason, 
and I think that the professor who has excuses in charge 
will do something for you. You had better see him at 
once." So the matter was brought again to the attention 
of the chairman of the committee on excuses, who, after 
hearing it, said, " I have no jurisdiction in this case. It is 

a proper case for Dr. , and you should go and see 

him." So back to the gymnasium the writer limped and 
told him that the chairman of the committee on excuses 
had referred the matter to him for decision. Very quick 
and decided was his reply this time : " I say that you are 
to see the chairman of the committee on excuses." The 
next visit to the chairman of the committee on excuses 
brought a very quick and decided reply, right to the point : 
*' I say, see Dr. ." This seemed to be about the only 



Memories of Brown ■ 445 

solution of the matter to be reached, this, when the chair- 
man of the committee on excuses was appealed to for a 

decision, his reply was invariably, " See Dr. ." And 

when Dr. was approached each time his response 

was, " See the chairman of the committee on excuses." 

What was a poor limping student to do under such cir- 
cumstances? Though the ankle was painful, his injured 
feelings were still more so, and the lacerated condition of 
the latter could have but one issue, anger or despair. At 

last, addressing Dr. , the writer said, " Dr. -, are 

you good at guessing conundrums?" With a genial 
smile the doctor replied that he thought he was. Then 
this conundrum was flung at him : " Why are you and 
the chairman of the committee on excuses like my pocket 
dictionary ? " The doctor had finally to give it up. Then 
the writer replied: "In my pocket dictionary I looked 
up the word donkey, and for definition it said, ' see ass.' 
Turning over to that word it said ' see donkey.' Now I 
have visited you and you say, ' see the chairman of the 
committee on excuses,' and when I visit him he says, ' see 

Dr. .'" In a somewhat agitated manner the now 

rather excited doctor shot out his reply to this : " No in- 
sults, sir ! You will not be allowed to enter the gymna- 
sium class till further notice." With a great feeling of 
gratitude towards his pocket dictionary the writer fared 
forth gladly, though limping, excused at last. 

Harry Luke Thompson, i8g6. 



446 Memories of Brown 



A Fight with the Firemen in 1898 



I 



'A 



•■ COLLEGE student celebration, the like of 

y which has not been seen here in years, trans- 

'^ --^ formed the arena of Lincoln Field 

into a battleground last night.* 




The warring factions were the 
students of Brown University and 
the fire department, or rather a 
portion of it, of the city of Providence. The bones of 
contention were bonfires. The students wanted bonfires, 
wanted them badly, and, moreover, had bonfires to burn. 
The firemen had no objection to the lighting of bonfires, 
but insisted on performing their duty and putting out the 
bonfires as fast as they flared up. Therefore, the casus 
belli. The students fought the firemen, and the firemen, 
bonfires and students. This was the order of things from 
8:30 o'clock until lo o'clock on Lincoln Field. 

It was the wildest celebration the hill and campus had 
ever seen. A bonfire is in itself a little thing. But when 
rows of charging men are swept from their feet by a col- 
umn of squirting water, when students in football duds 
and firemen in rubber coats struggle for a line of hose, 
when a crowd that has laughed long and loud at seeing 
others wet becomes a target for a wide-sweeping water- 
spout — the possibilities of a bonfire are recognized. ' Tis 
no common sight to see well-dressed persons lovingly 
embrace a line of dirty, muddy hose. It isn't vouchsafed 
humanity every day to see a line of men swept from a 

*May 17, 1899. 



Mi 



emortes 



ofB 



rown 



447 



fence like ten-pins before a ball by water. It is an excite- 
ment beyond the ordinary run to be soaked through and 
through when garbed in a dress suit. It creates enthusi- 
asm to hear men shout and cheer. There's a tingling in 
the blood when the possibility of a good hard fist fight is 
in prospect. 




Brunonia and Caswell Halls 

For two hours the students built bonfires, cut lines of 
hose and threw themselves before streams of water with 
an earnestness that was not dampened. The firemen, 
likewise, appeared to enjoy things, especially when they 
played upon a bunch of collegians. There were one or 
two mixups when the students attempted to take a nozzle 
away from the firemen. The students did not show any 
particular advantage in this. They showed more profi- 



448 Memories of Brown 

ciency in cutting hose. The poHce of the Central and 
Third stations were sent for and Deputy Chief Egan also 
travelled up the hill, for it was feared at one time there 
would be a pitched battle between the students and the 
firemen. 

A crowd of two or three thousand persons witnessed 
the performance which was considerably like a circus. It 
was all the more enjoyable because there was only one 
ring. It occupied the grandstands and the bleachers and 
in the beginning was an immaculately groomed and 
gowned party, dress suits being very much in evidence 
since many of the East-siders had left dinner to go to 
this show. 

After the firemen had turned the stream on all it could 
reach, signs of dress were unrecognizable. The sympa- 
thies of the watchers were evenly divided between the 
firemen and the students until after the deluge. Then it 
all went to the students. What with the yelling and 
cheering, the bonfires and the firemen it was a never-to- 
be-forgotten night on Lincoln Field. 

Had the celebration been planned to take the succes- 
sive steps it did it would have been a failure. Since it was 
a creation of chance and the mood of men, it became a 
celebration with which future revels of victory will suffer 
in comparison. The first step was the ringing in of an 
alarm from box 91 by Steward Delaney of the college. 
It was soon after the parade, and a bonfire had been 
started and was flaming brightly on the campus in the 
rear of Slater Hall. The collegians were dancing around 
it and cheering in their ebullition of spirits when the fire- 
men came clattering to the scene with engines and hose 
wagons, hose and nozzles. The bonfire was the only fire 
in sight, and, rightly supposing that it was this for which 
the alarm had been rung, they made preparations to ex- 
tinguish it. 



Memories of Brown 449 

A line of hose was attached to a hydrant and the hose- 
men went forward with the Hne. They didn't go far. A 
hundred or more students and their sympathizers signi- 
fied their disapproval of any fire extinguishing by seizing 
the line of hose in its middle and pulling it to the rear. 
They considered that they had a right to build bonfires 
on their own campus, and as long as it was not a menace 
the bonfire should be left to burn while their voices lasted. 

The firemen had been called to put out a fire, so they 
put out the only one in sight. They didn't do it with 
water, however. When the students had dragged the fire- 
men so far back that the water wouldn't reach the flames 
more firemen came to the aid of their companions. There 
was a tug of war, the firemen being outnumbered five to 
one. In the course of it the tuggers became crowded 
against the wooden fence on the George street side. The 
fence made more room by falling flat on the sidewalk. 
Water was turned on at the hydrant, but it didn't reach 
the nozzle. The hose had been cut in three or four 
places by strategic students. The hose was finally 
given up and the fire extinguished by the fluid in the 
chemical tanks. 

This animated gathering had drawn a big crowd, and, 
like all crowds, it followed the leader. 

" Brown, this way," was the rallying slogan, and the 
students hurried to the baseball diamond, followed by a 
stumbling crowd of men, women and children. 

Another fire was started in the centre of the diamond ; 
it was blazing merrily and fuel was in demand when 
the firemen again entered the game. Naturally they did 
not approve of cutting the hose nor of the attempt to block 
them from pursuing their legitimate vocation. They 
were there to put out fires, and they would put out all 
fires in sight. 

So they came running down between the gymnasium 



450 Memories of Brown 

and the bleacher next to Maxcy Hall, with a line of hose 
and water spurting from the nozzle. " Here comes the 
hose, here comes the hose ; stop ! " shouted the students 
whose yells had drawn to them cohorts of youthful and 
adult rowdies and toughs. Naturally those who shouted 
the loudest stood back. A few of the more daring made 
a rush for the hose. They seized it some feet away from 
the two firemen who were holding the nozzle, and began 
pulling. With twenty men pulling against them the 
firemen advanced rapidly backwards. Then for the first 
time they assumed the offensive. They turned around 
and steered the stream straight upon the bodies of the 
students. When the water struck these they went down 
as though their legs had been taken from under them. 
They were knocked endwise and edgewise. They stood 
everywhere but upon their feet. The water struck them 
with the force of a club and as fast as they got up they 
went down again. Blinded and gasping some of them 
still clung to the hose line. Then more students made 
a rush for the two men and a struggle began for the pos- 
session of the nozzle. It thrashed and squirmed, spun 
round and banged right and left like a crazy windmill, 
smiting the students right and left. One of them, E. G. 
Hapgood, received a clip that made him hors de combat 
for the rest of the night. 

The crowd that had congregated on the bleacher near 
Maxcy Hall came in for its portion of wetness and stopped 
laughing at the bedraggled, watersoaked students. It fled 
under the bleacher; it ran and scrambled in a confused 
mass, but couldn't escape the twisting nozzle. It received 
a thorough ducking. At this juncture the hose was cut 
and the nozzle gave up its struggles. For the time being 
the college had won and mighty resonant cheers sounded 
through the air while the bonfire burned merrily. Lum- 
ber in plenty came forth and the students sang songs. A 



A/. 



em ones o 



o/B. 



rown 



451 



few of them were in rags and most of them were thor- 
oughly wet. Their victory was but momentary. The 
firemen came on with another Hne of hose. As far as it 
could be seen it was guarded by policemen and firemen. 
" Brown, this way," yelled the students and small boys, and 
a sortie was made for the rear of the bleacher, where the 




Sayles and Wilson Halls and the John Carter Brown Library 



hose was supposed to be unprotected. The supposition 
was incorrect. It was guarded by another nozzle and 
when the leaders were a few feet from this brass pipe the 
water issued forth. The crowd, of course, had followed 
the leaders. 

The front rank of the attacking party were swept from 
their feet and carried away as the chaff is by the whirl- 



452 Memories of Brown 

wind. The rest turned their backs and incontinently 
fled. It is no joke to say that their ardor was dampened. 
The stream of water assisted their retrograde movement. 
It struck some of them in the small of their back and laid 
them flat. It took the legs out from under others and 
hurled the rest to the four winds. It was a wild scut- 
tling rush. The people of the bleachers, who were only 
spectators, enjoyed this and were aroused to great mirth. 
The stream heard the summons and came to them. They 
fell down with impetus and emphasis. The stream played 
all over the diamond, and transformed the hard ground 
into a quagmire. 

It was obvious that the students didn't know what they 
wanted. So a leader got a knot together, and propounded 
this question : " Do we want a fire ? " The answer was 
in the affirmative, thus : " We do want a fire ! We 
will have a fire ! Yah ! " Then sundry and divers yells, 
cat-calls and hoots of derision, directed towards the firemen 
and policemen. 

Another fire was built near the bleacher on the Thayer 
street side. The firemen couldn't reach it and the legions 
of the bonfire yelled grandly in unison. The crowd began 
to disperse, since wet clothes are not comfortable. The 
firemen refrained from speech, but went around to Thayer 
street and put two streams over the fence. These streams 
didn't reach the bonfire, but knocked a crowd from the 
top of the fence. The cheering ceased and it was decided 
that the fire was in danger. It was removed, while still 
burning, piece by piece, several feet. There was more 
cheering, since it was beyond the firemen. With consist- 
ent quietness these latter climbed the fence with the noz- 
zles and the fire-builders fled to places where it was at 
least dry overhead. This fire was extinguished. 

" To the campus," was the yell, and thither rushed the 
crowd. The original fire in the rear of Slater Hall was 



Memories of Brown 453 

blazing again. It blazed, and the firemen and policemen 
went away. The students made a faint noise. They 
could not shout their victory as they would, for they could 
but whisper. They shook hands and those that were wet 
danced themselves dry. There was no need of the police, 
though it seemed a likelihood at one time. The ofiicers 
made no attempt to interfere, save but to guard the hose. 
When they first appeared the students hooted and hissed 
them, and sang, "Get out, cops," in chorus. 

It was claimed that Irving Southworth received a scalp 
wound from a policeman's club. The bonfire revelry con- 
tinued into the early morning hours. 

While the bonfire incident proved to be the piece de 
resistance of the celebration, a parade due to the same in- 
spiration preceded it, the aforesaid inspiration being the 
victory of the Brown nine at Princeton. When Brown 
wins a ballgame the students are prone to suffer tempo- 
rary aberration of mind. The usual flight of intellect or 
a supper of hasheesh led about 300 of the university chil- 
dren to array themselves in the garments of sleep and 
parade down College Hill and through Westminster and 
Weybosset streets. Of course they yowled and blocked 
the street-cars and gave the populace generally to under- 
stand what a throaty affair the aftermath of a baseball 
victory is. In front of the Doyle monument they jumped 
up and down, blew horns and yelled while a placard bear- 
ing the inscription " Brown 6, Princeton only 3," was 
placed before the monument. Then they marched back 
to college. 

From a conternporary account. 



454 Memories of Brown 



Recollections of a ''Super" 



^S I used to geologize out along the Hartford turn- 
l-\ pike with the rest of the class, by some strange 
^ -^ perversity of my nature my greatest interest was 
always aroused by the curious bits of rock — 
the "funny-looking" stones. They invariably proved 
to be worthless things, but, nevertheless, I liked them. 
They were odd little specimens, individualists in their 
way, and I used to carry them about in my pocket and 
exhibit them to the boys with as much pleasure as ever 
a real geologist experienced in displaying a real find. 

The passing years have panned my college memories 
as a miner pans for gold. They have washed away this 
and that thing, until, now, looking in the pan, I find a 
curious assortment. There are some rocks of experience, 
a few— a sad few — nuggets of knowledge, and a large 
number of "funny-looking" stones. And, as in the other 
days, I like these last the best. They are curiously 
labelled, and I find that most of them refer to incidents 
and events which have nothing whatever to do with the 
elms, the campus, the president or the faculty. 

Among them there is one marked " Suping," and it is 
one of my favorites. It brings up the old opera house 
from pit to gallery. It recalls evenings spent there in 
front, but, most pleasing of all, it conjures up the nights 
when I stood behind the charmed circle of the lights and 
did all that blundering stupidity could do to spoil the per- 
formance. " Suping " was an ancient pastime for the stu- 
dents even in my day. Why, I recollect hearing of the 



Memories of Brown 



455 



chap who assisted Edwin Booth. It was an old story 
even then. 

It seems that Booth was presenting Othello and was 
himself cast for lago. The student was engaged to help 
in the mob. It so happened that in the play there was 




Ladd Astronomical Observatory 



one part which required a trifle more intelligence than is 
usual in a mob, which required what might be termed a 
super-supe. The engaging countenance of the young 
student attracted the attention of the tragedian, and to 
the gratification of the young man he was selected for the 
part. The character was that of a watchman. At one 



456 Memories of B 



rown 



stage of the play lago and another engage in a rapier 
duel. It was the duty of the watchman to step forward 
and strike up their swords, accompanying the action with 
the words, " Hold your hands ! " That phrase was all the 
student had to learn, but he learned it with every possible 
variation and change of emphasis. He practised it in 
falsetto and basso profundo. He roared it. He cooed it. 
He implored and he commanded, and before the fateful 
night arrived he could have said it in any one of a hun- 
dred ways. 

The play went smoothly and majestically forward. At 
the proper time the fighting words were spoken. The 
rapiers were drawn. The combatants sprang at each 
other. The student stepped bravely forward, drew his 
sword, made a feeble pass — and gulped. Booth glared at 
him, and fenced desperately — literally fenced for time. 
Again the student waved the sword, and again — he gulped. 
The words he was to have spoken were as though they 
had never been. Under his breath. Booth hissed, "Speak, 
you fool." Thereupon, the young man, rising to the 
emergency at last, squared his shoulders, struck up the 
contending swords with a mighty sweep, and in ringing 
tones ejaculated, " Cheese it, the cop !" 

I recollect a night when two '98 men were drafted to 
act as soldiers. I forget the play, and it does not matter. 
They were supposed to stand side by side at the door in 
the rear, shoulders up, eyes to the front. At the ap- 
pointed time, at a word from their superior officer, they 
were to march down the stage, seize the villain, and eject 
him L. R. E. On the night in question they took their 
stand. At the cue, the officer yelled, " Seize that man ! " 
and with swinging steps they advanced to the footlights. 
By some curious mischance, the hero and the villain had 
been rehearsing each other's parts at rehearsals, and this 
night, for the first time, were acting their proper roles. 



Memories of Brown 457 

This change, however, had not been explained to the two 
soldiers. They had learned to associate a certain face 
with a villainous character, and they had been hustling 
that face off stage L. R. E. for three rehearsals. So 
when they came down that night and spotted the man 
they had been arresting at all times theretofore, they pro- 
ceeded to nail him as usual. There was a horrified gasp 
from the audience, a frenzied half-yell from the prompter 
in the wings, and a startled whisper from the hero. All 
was futile. 

" Theirs not to reason why — " 

They grabbed that hero and started. He cursed and 
fought ; the prompter swore and the audience shouted, 
but the two soldiers bent to the task and the hero went 
off stage L. R. E. 

I think it was in my junior year that Henry Irving and 
Ellen Terry came to Providence for a three-nights en- 
gagement. The first production was the Merchant of 
Venice, and among seven or eight men who suped that eve- 
ning were" Beef" Wheeler, Howard Briggs, my roommate, 
and myself. I have no recollection of the first two acts, 
except that at one time the whole crowd of supes, 
wrapped in black cloaks and carrying small lanterns, were 
sent scurrying across a dark stage before the drop-curtain. 
After it was all over we learned that we were supposed to 
have been gay roisterers pursuing "a bevy of girls. We 
were all somewhat aggrieved at this announcement, for 
we felt that had we known our true characters we could 
have bagged at least one girl. 

This escapade accomplished, we were hustled down to 
the dressing-rooms, and informed that our next appear- 
ance would be in the courtroom scene. The man in 
charge sized us up, and said that all but Briggs and I 
would go on as guards. We, being of small stature, were 
cast for " magnificoes." They clapped a white wig on my 



458 Memories of Brown 

head, adorned my face with white eyebrows, white mus- 
tache and goatee, threw a scarlet cloak about my 
shoulders, and there I was. When they had Briggs fixed 
you couldn't have told him from a justice of the supreme 
court. In the meantime, Wheeler and the others had 
been put into armor — good American tin-plate armor. 
They looked grand and gorgeous. 

The scene was set in this wise, looking at it from the 
front. The duke of Venice and six magnificoes consti- 
tuted the court and they were lined up on the right-hand 
side of the stage like a football team. The duke played 
centre, the left end was near the footlights and the right 
end was up-stage. Briggs was right end and I was right 
tackle. The man playing guard next to me was one of 
the company, and we were told that all we had to do was 
to get up when he got up and sit down when he sat down. 
We thought we could do that. 

One of the entrances was on the left side of the stage and 
one at the rear. There was a thin guard at the former, 
and " Beef" Wheeler at the latter. I can see that thin 
guard yet. He stood beside the door, facing the audience. 
The visor of his helmet was up and his sharp nose and 
chin were silhouetted against the wall beyond. He stood 
motionless, staring out over the footlights, past the door 
which he was guarding. His spear he held upright in his 
left hand. 

The play proceeded. Presently came the time for Shy- 
lock to make his entrance. That was the cue. The 
door opposite slowly opened. The old Jew stood in the 
entrance. Everyone on the stage and in the audience 
was aware of his presence, I presume, except the thin 
guard at the door at which he was entering. About this 
time, that guard conceived the idea that he was holding 
the spear in the wrong hand, and that he might shift it 
over unnoticed, provided he did it quickly. So, as Shy- 



M, 



emortes o 



ofB. 



rown 



459 



lock stepped forward, he swung the spear around. It 
caught Sir Henry a right smart slap in the stomach, and 
he looked vastly surprised. The guard looked surprised 
too. He took away his spear, bowed solicitously, and 
said, " I beg your pardon. I trust I did not hurt you." 
But Sir Henry did not wait to discuss the question. He 




St. Stephen's Church and the Engineering Building 



waved him aside, and proceeded as calmly as though he 
was accustomed to having men poke him in the ribs with 
a long stick. 

" The quality of mercy is not strained — " 

The rich tones swept out over the house, and no one in 
all that audience had thought for anything but the grand 
passage. That is, no one but " Beef " Wheeler. It so hap- 



460 Memories of Brown 

pened that " Beef" weighed close to 200 pounds, and he 
had been run into a boy's size suit of armor. It fitted 
him soon, very soon, and very completely, and to climax 
the situation they had closed down the visor of the 
helmet. The result was, that, to all intents and purposes, 
they had immersed him in a Turkish bath. It became 
warm inside that armor, and the longer he stood the 
warmer it got, and, the outfit being practically a shell, all 
the weather slowly percolated up inside and accumulated 
in the helmet, and since, as has been said, the visor was 
down, all the heat stayed there. 

" It droppeth as the gentle dew from Heaven upon the 
place beneath." 

" How divine," thought the audience. 

" Gentle dew ! " snorted " Beef," " Gentle dew, nothing. 
It's a flood in here." 

" It is twice blest. It blesseth him that gives and him 
that takes." 

" Beautiful," murmured the crowd. 

"Blessing! I'll bless the man who put me into this 
if I ever get a hold of him," growled " Beef." " Great 
Scott ! Isn't she ever going to quit. Saw it off, old girl, 
saw it off. I'll give you two minutes to chop it." 

" ' Nu£f said," grunted " Beef." " Time's up. The stuff 
is off." 

A junk wagon on a cobblestone road might have made 
more noise, but it is a matter for argument. The mailed 
shoes clanged on the boards. The mailed fist smote 
against the spear. Each armored joint shrieked a pro- 
test. The visor rattled against the helmet. Miss Terry 
paused and glared at the guard, but that pillar of the Vene- 
tian state was gone. He was in the wings seeking a 
spigot and the man who had strapped him in. 

Briggs and I were ashamed of our colleagues. Seated 
at ease upon our bench it was inconceivable to us that 



Memories of Brown 461 

any men, and, above all, college men, could hinder or harm 
such a performance. We were carried beyond ourselves. 
It was much to see Irving and Terry. It was far more to 
sit within ten feet of them and see every expression, every 
minute gesture. We followed each phase of the play 
closely. The compelling plea, the hard insistence of the 
Jew, swept our emotions in turn. We heard Portia give 
judgment against Antonio. The next instant, advancing 
across the stage, she addressed the duke. 

" Most Noble Duke," said she, " Hast in the court the 
scales to weigh the flesh } " 

And right there was where we got our bolt from the 
blue. The duke, in what to me was a most profound 
voice of inquiry, turned to the man next to me, and said, 
" Sir, hast thou the scales } " 

Thereupon that individual, without any preliminaries 
whatever, wheeled to me, and said in an accusing voice, 
*' Sir, hast thou the scales .? " 

" Great Heavens," I thought, " They have forgotten to 
provide those scales, and they are trying to stick me for 
it." But I was not responsible for their old scales, and 
did not intend to let them think I was. 

"What," said I, aloud, "scales? I haven't seen any 
scales ; Briggsey, have you got those scales .? " 

Poor Briggs was so surprised that he nearly fell off the 
seat. 

" Scales ? " said he, startled and flustered, " Never had 
any scales," and then, illuminated by a sudden tremen- 
dous idea, he added hopefully, " Perhaps they are under 
the bench." 

And he proceeded to get down on his hands and knees 
and take a look, 

" Get up from there," whispered the man next me in a 
fierce whisper. I glanced around. Portia was proceeding 
with her lines, and in her hands she held a pair of scales. 



462 



Mi 



emories 



ofB. 



rown 



Briggs meekly crawled back on the bench, and I sank 
back too astonished to murmur, but to this day where 
she obtained those scales is a mystery to both of us, 

Warren E. Greene, i8g8. 




Professor Benjamin F. Clarke, 1863 
(From the Benson Portrait) 



Memories of Brown A(i3 

President Andrews: As Seen by 
the Brown Men of His Time 



WHATEVER differences there may be in opin- 
ions as to this or that of the mental character- 
istics of President Andrews, wherever Brown 
men are gathered together there is always 
unanimous testimony concerning the phenomenal nature 
of his ability to remember faces and to recall names, and 
many are the reminiscences exemplifying this facility of 
recollection. That it is a cultivated power, however, 
and not entirely a natural gift was made known by the 
advice which he gave us. " Gentlemen, " he was wont to 
say, " gentlemen, cultivate your memories ; it is within the 
power of everyone of you to enlarge his stock of ever- 
ready data. When for example, a pat word or a name 
evades your mental fishhook, do not run helplessly to 
your dictionary, but rather command it to come forth 
from its hiding-place in the dark recesses of your own 
preserves and if it will not come, get down, get down, 
gentlemen, on the floor and roll ; grovel on the ground 
until it comes to light." It is extremely difficult to pic- 
ture our dignified " Prexy " rolling about on his study 
fioor in search of an elusive word, but that in some way 
he had struggled with and gained the mastery over those 
will-o'-the-wisps of memory no one who knew him can 
ever doubt. 

He remembered faces as well as names and the facility 
with which he learned to know his students was largely 



464 Memories of Brown 

responsible for the great influence which he exerted over 
them individually. That there were a few men, however, 
in the under classes who had never come in direct per- 
sonal contact with the president might very well have 
been the case in a university so large as Brown and, ac- 
cording to a contemporary anecdote, it appears that to 
remain unknown might even be a laudable ambition. 

Once at a local gathering, a father whose son was then 
a junior in the university asked to be introduced to Presi- 
dent Andrews. After the introduction the parent re- 
marked to Dr. Andrews that he probably knew his son 
very well, mentioning the son's name. To the evident 
surprise of the father Dr. Andrews was obliged to tell 
him that he had never met his son to know him. " But," 
remarked the president, " I want to assure you, Mr. B., 
that the fact of my not knowing him is pretty good evi- 
dence that he is a young man of the right stamp. If he 
were not, I should probably have known him long before 
this." 

But whether the students were all known to him or not 
there was no doubt that he was known to all of them. 
A personality such as that of Dr. Andrews can never be 
neutral ; it makes itself felt upon all within eye and ear 
shot. Merely to come under his glance was an experi- 
ence not easily forgotten. There was something about 
that glance not easily analyzed but certainly it was the ex- 
pression about the eyes which first attracted and held the 
attention. He had lost an eye in the war and surely Dr. 
Andrews will forgive a reference to his monocular vi- 
sion, as perhaps he was unconscious of its effect upon the 
student-body. Whichever eye was the glass one and 
which the all-seeing, we could never agree upon, for both 
moved, and when he was apparently steadily scrutinizing 
Brown, he bowed to Jones. Somehow one felt that either 
or both of those eyes could pierce thick darkness and 



Memories of Brown 465 

walls of masonry. So what matters it which was glass, 
since the feeling that one of them was ever on us, pre- 
served us from " many a blunder and foolish notion." 
Even in prayer — when we stole frequent glances to see if 
perchance both eyes might not be closed — there was that 
piercing regard, convincing one that the president was 
pleading with the Lord himself for the pardon and guid- 
ance of the particular, self-conscious sinner on whom his 
gaze seemed to be fixed. Only when the prayer drew to 
a close and the usual plea was being made for bodies 
politic and social, when in gradually widening circles the 
intercessory entreaty was being thrown about " our 
city, its mayor, our state, its governor, our nation, its 
statesmen and oft misguided legislators, our president," 
and finally about the world and the universe itself — then 
and then only did we feel assured that, in its concern for 
great and infinite affairs, the president's mind had de- 
parted far from the consideration of such mites as us. 
Then did one feel safe to give another look only to seek 
safety in a quick return to the reverential attitude — bury- 
ing the head like the stork — for there it was, open and 
fixed upon your inner soul, that natural looking artificial 
organ or that unnaturally penetrating natural eye, which 
it mattered not. 

Not the eye alone, however, was responsible for the 
control which he exerted over all those who came in con- 
tact with him, for his whole presence and bearing de- 
manded respect and obedience. Tall and square, quick 
of glance, ready of comprehension, with facial expression 
apparently always under volitional control, he seemed 
ever the soldier. It was not necessary to regard the lit- 
tle G. A. R. button which he always wore in his lapel to 
know that he had seen service, for his firm, clear voice 
and sharply enunciated words bespoke the officer, and 
when he assumed command all within earshot — raw re- 



466 



Memories of Brown 



cruits and old comrades alike — recognized the voice of 
authority and stepped into line. In emergencies his 
words were few but always to the point and we recall 
many incidents in which it was "not ours to question 
why." 

I have been reminded of a cane-rush in which seniors 
and juniors united in inciting the two lower classes to 




John Nicholas Brown Gates and John Carter Brown Library 



battle for supremacy. The juniors backed the freshmen, 
the seniors egged on the sophomores, and the rival classes 
finally came together with an enthusiasm of spirit and a 
violence of impact which gave promise of a genuine, old- 
fashioned class battle. Hats and faces had already been 
smashed and there was prospect of a long, fierce and soul- 
satisfying scrimmage when, flapping down the tar walks. 



Memories of Brown 467 

came Bennie in his slippers. Over in his study in the 
president's house, since demohshed, he had somehow got 
scent of the affair. Seizing the men, one by one, by the 
coat collars and snapping them out of his way, he walked 
into the midst of the fray and in a voice that could be heard 
by all said, " Gentlemen, I wish to announce that there will 
be no cane-rush today " — and there wasn't. Immediately 
and good naturedly the boys separated and went to their 
rooms, stopping only to give a rousing cheer for Bennie. 

On another occasion in the darkness of the night, on 
the field of collegiate battle, flushed with excitement, with 
one hand on the coveted cane, a freshman struggles fierce- 
ly. Swaying now this way, now that with the surging 
mob, he receives suddenly a crack on the back of the 
head from the stick of some infuriated and cowardly soph. 
With anger exploding in his heart, with the determina- 
tion to obtain that cane or die in the attempt, he re- 
doubles his exertions. Suddenly a low but distinct voice 

pierces his ear drums. " Mr. , please go to your room 

at once." A swift turn of the head and no further doubt 
remained as to the ownership of that voice. There stood 
Bennie in neglige costume, a cap pulled down to the ears. 
Did the freshman go to his room ? Yes, and without 
thought for the order of his going. Man by man, called 
by name as were Napoleon's soldiers, the battle-stained 
warriors sought the privacy of their chambers, and who 
won the cane that night no one has ever heard, but it is the 
private belief of many that Bennie used it as a guide on 
his lonely homeward pathway. 

Many were the rumors — possibly exaggerated — as to 
the proportion of his meagre salary which he each year 
refused to accept, preferring to turn it back into the gen- 
eral fund for college maintenance, and many stories have 
we heard of professors who, approaching him with tales 
of the crying needs of their departments, were told that 



468 Memories of Brown 

the necessary money would be forthcoming, only to find 
later that it had been supplied from his own pockets. 
How much he gave to the college secretly none will ever 
know and he would be the first to shrink from an account- 
ing of these silent gifts. But a part of his charities could 
not remain hidden and since certain of them were known 
to us all there is no indelicacy in recalling them. Wheth- 
er it was football, baseball or the general athletic fund 
which was short of money, Bennie's name headed the list 
of voluntary subscriptions. 

Those who might have been classed among the needy 
students do not need to be reminded of his thoughtful- 
ness. As winter approached certain ones were sum- 
moned to his office. Thoughts of misdeeds, disgrace and 
expulsion flashed across their minds, but let the unin- 
formed look to these men for answer when it is asked 
why the mention of Bennie's name today is met with 
cheer on cheer. The words which he spoke to them 
were so tactful and frank as to do violence to no feelings 

of self-respect. " Mr. , I fear you do not appreciate 

the rigors of our New England climate ; I notice that you 
are going about without an overcoat. I wish to inform 
you that there are a number of ulsters which have been 
placed at my disposal for the use of men who are not pre- 
pared for our cold winters. You are requested to make 
use of one." Thus did Bennie care for his flock. 

In time of trouble he was a tower of strength to those 
who sought his aid. College days are said to be the hap- 
piest of a man's life, but I am sure that if the truth were 
demanded many would have to testify that before they 
came to Brown and after they had graduated the stress of 
life was often less painful and severe than in those years 
when untried and inexperienced we had to fight desper- 
ately to hold our own. The maturing age is often enough 
trying to the healthiest boy in the healthiest of circum- 



Memories of Brown 469 

stances, but where the inherited mental or physical con- 
stitution is below par or the individual experience par- 
ticularly harsh the inrush of adolescent feelings and ideas 
too often proves to be an overpowering downward deter- 
minant in the formation of character. To many the first 
year in college is especially gruelling and certainly there 
was many a freshman, who, had it not been for the help 
of E. Benjamin Andrews, must have fallen at that time 
from the ranks. 

But it is in the sophomore year that the student needs 
especially the example and guidance of an older and wiser 
man. In junior and senior years the student could come 
directly under the teaching of Dr. Andrews and sit in his 
classroom, but I venture to say that in no year did the 
president exert a more powerful influence over his 
charges than in their sophomoric terms. In my day he 
was chairman of the committee of lOO whose duty it was 
to study and suppress so far as possible the vice of the city 
of Providence. It was not considered safe to approach a 
roulette table or to seek to ascertain by experience the dif- 
ference between a "Tom Collins" and a " John Collins" 
as served over the bar of the Mahogany Palace, for was it 
not known that Bennie had suddenly appeared in this or 
that resort at various times and after a swift glance of 
recognition at such students as happened to be present 
had warned the proprietors sternly that swift punishment 
would surely overtake them if they encouraged the visits 
of Brown students. Such were the rumors ; whether they 
had any basis in fact I do not know, but I believe there 
are many authentic instances of wayward youths who 
were summoned to the president's ofhce and taken to task 
for riotous nocturnal adventures. 

That he habitually visited the students in their rooms 
is a fact for which the experience of many can vouch and 
it was commonly believed that he planned to call at least 



470 



Memories of Brown 



once each year at every room on the campus. The re- 
straining influence arising from such visits, prospective 
and actual, can easily be imagined. Many a time were 




Sayles Hall and Lyman Gymnasium 
Marcus Aurelius Statue at the left 



the cards and beer bottles hustled out of sight and youth- 
ful heads suddenly buried in books at the sound of afoot- 
step in the corridor or at the news that Bennie had been 
seen entering or leaving a neighboring room. 

As an adviser, guardian, censor, friend and helper he 



Memories of Brown 471 

won and held the soft spots in every student's heart and 
though it was known that he could be a stern and un- 
yielding disciplinarian every man felt that in time of 
trouble and need he would not turn to Bennie in vain for 
comfort and guidance. Those he found it necessary to 
rebuke came away without bitterness or malice toward 
him and indeed he often took the sting from his reproof 
with a pleasantry or an offer of material assistance to the 
student in difficulty. A Ninety-seven man gives the fol- 
lowing illustration of the way in which Dr. Andrews 
tempered his justice : 

" One of my friends was accustomed to receive each 
term through the office an allowance of money, a part of 
which was applied to his college bill and the remainder 
turned over to him. Having been at considerable extra 
expense one term, he went to the president and asked that 
for once the whole amount might be passed over to him, 
promising to pay his college bill within a stipulated time. 
Bennie at once proceeded to rebuke him sharply for put- 
ting any other obligation before his indebtedness to the 
college, and peremptorily refused the request. He closed 
the interview, however, by saying, ' If you need a little 

money just now, Mr. , I will lend you some. How 

much do you need ? ' The student told him and Bennie 
passed over the amount." 

In work and play he was a constant inspiration. The 
amount of labor which he performed was marvellous and 
yet he seemed always to find time for his regular exercise 
and recreation. He taught and practised method with- 
out becoming tied down to a soul-killing routine. Late 
into the night his study light was seen burning and the 
night-prowling students climbing wearily up College Hill, 
long after the cable car had made its last trip, often won- 
dered what was Bennie's bedtime. It was never safe to 
conclude that the study light meant that he was buried 



472 Memories of Brown 

in his books for he had a habit of taking a late stroll be- 
fore retiring and many a time and oft in the stilly night 
as the careless student started to break forth in ribald 
song, he received from a comrade a punch in the ribs and 
a warning that Bennie was pursuing a parallel course on 
the opposite side of the street. At such times it was 
often diflficult to recognize him for he had a way of dis- 
carding at night the tall hat and presidential dress, wear- 
ing instead a cap pulled down over the eyes and a short 
coat which changed his appearance remarkably. He was 
a stickler for correct dress and openly taught that it was 
a man's duty to set off to best advantage such charms of 
person as had been vouchsafed him, but he did not hesitate 
under cover of the dark and in moments of relaxation to 
go forth in such unconventional garb as to cause his stu- 
dents to regard with suspicion every tramp on College 
Hill. Apropos of this disguise a Seventy-nine graduate 
has this story to tell : 

" It was a bleak winter's night ; a veritable blizzard was 
on and the streets were wellnigh deserted. President 
Andrews, clad in an old reefer and a slouched hat, worn 
well down over the eyes, was taking his customary walk 
down College Hill, up Westminster street to the monu- 
ment and back down Weybosset street. At the corner 
of Snow street a rough-looking character stepped out and 
somewhat threateningly accosted him with, ' Say, Mister, 
give me a dime to get a night's lodging.' The president 
thrust his hand in his pocket, fumbled about mechanical- 
ly for a minute and then replied, ' My man, I haven't a 
cent.' The hobo looked him over critically until, reas- 
sured by his inspection, he said, ' Say, pard, come around 
the corner and have a drink with me. I've got some 
money.' " 

However late he may have gone to bed, he was always 
punctual to the minute for chapel each morning, and 



Memories of Brown 473 

many students timed their hurried preparations for morn- 
ing devotions by his appearance on the walk leading to 
the chapel doors, knowing it would be just so many min- 
utes before the doors were closed against the late comers. 

He taught method, punctuality and industry. He 
urged his students to make use of spare moments. The 
hours so frequently wasted in the cars during travel he 
maintained should be put to good use and he declared that 
a poorly lighted car or hotel chamber offered no ex- 
cuse for idleness, for it was a matter of but small ex- 
pense to furnish one's self with a pocket reading lamp or 
bull's-eye lantern whereby excellent illumination could be 
obtained at any time. 

He encouraged systematization and I have no doubt 
that he would have been an enthusiastic advocate of the 
card catalogue system had it been in vogue in those days, 
for it was his custom to describe to the students his 
method of preserving memoranda for ready reference. 
" No matter what the subject on which you seek to col- 
lect knowledge or the function in which you desire facil- 
ity and proficiency, the method is the same. Pocket 
notebooks — the Star variety answers the purpose excel- 
lently — can be purchased for a cent each. Suppose you 
wish to become a good after-dinner speaker: when you 
hear a good story or read some humorous anecdote you 
jot down a note or two in your pocket notebook and at 
night you file your acquisition under an appropriate head- 
ing in cheap boxes which can be arranged about your 
study walls. You will be surprised at the size and useful- 
ness of the collection which you can make in a short 
time." 

But Bennie was not all work and he somehow found 
leisure to attend most or all of the college games, where 
his eager, enthusiastic bearing and boyish cheer inspired 
every player to the utmost exertion in the effort to win a 



474 Memories of Brown 

victory. In the fall when the men were engaged in foot- 
ball practice he was frequently to be seen on the side 
lines. He knew every player by his first name or nick- 
name as well as by his surname. 

He believed thoroughly in the development of physical 
strength, and encouraged both by precept and example 




E. Benjamin Andrews, 1870 
President of Brown University, 1889-U 



all forms of bodily exercise. He was enthusiastic over 
the opening of the new Lyman Gymnasium and many an 
indolent student was put to shame by the sight of Bennie 
in gymnasium suit working away with pulley weights and 
dumb-bells. 

It will not be amiss here to repeat one or two of his 
tales, for, to one who has heard him tell them, these stories 



Memories of Brown 475 

will bring to mind only the more vividly the picture of 
the man himself with his characteristic gestures, his dry, 
forceful enunciation, his sober face with its twinkling eye 
and barely repressed smile of humor striving to bend into 
relaxed curves the well-controlled lines about his strong 
mouth. No matter how moss-grown the tale nor how 
often we had heard it, from his mouth it seemed ever fresh 
and new-cut in the telling. His delivery was wellnigh in- 
imitable. He had a way of pursing his lips and of swiftly 
protruding and retracting his tongue as the climax was 
approached and, however difficult it may be to analyze 
the zest and charm which these facial gestures added to 
the narrative, there is no doubt that they would have sup- 
plied sufficient action had his hands been tied behind his 
back. To the delight of all except the most finical of his 
hearers he frequently used terms which from any other 
mouth spoken in any other way would have sounded 
differently. I remember well how in one of his sermons 
there was an audible gasp from his congregation and 
a sharp catching of the breath when after describing 
the almost unspeakable machinations of certain political 
vermin he suddenly exclaimed, " I affirm that were I to 
offer up a prayer for the souls of these beings, I would 
cry — with all due reverence — O God ! damn such crea- 
tures." 

A member of the class of Ninety says: " One day he 
gave in senior class his version of the historic monkey 
and parrot episode. I have never heard it just the same 
from anyone else. As nearly as I can remember it went 
like this : A monkey was much annoyed at a parrot be- 
cause of its incessant chatter. The monkey stood it as 
long as he could, and then attacked the bird, with results 
highly disastrous to the latter. When the fracas was 
over, the owner, opening the door of the room, saw the 
parrot on its perch, smoothing its feathers as best it 



476 Memories of B 



rown 



might, and heard it say to itself, most mournfully, ' O God, 
I talk too much ! ' " 

The following story also was told to the members of 
the class of 1890 in their senior year. It was about a 
bootblack in Cincinnati. The boy was polishing a man's 
shoes in the railway station and the man asked him what 
time the next train went. No answer; the question was 
repeated. Again no answer and again the question. 
Finally a bystander intervened. " Don't you see the boy 
is deaf } " " I don't care if he is," exclaimed the first 
man petulantly, "he needn't be so damned stiff about it." 

Here is another story, the scene laid in a faculty meet- 
ing with President Andrews presiding. Professor A. 
speaks, " Mr. President, I would like information in re- 
gard to Mr. I., a student in the sophomore class, who failed 
to pass my examination." 

President. " Can any member of the faculty give Pro- 
fessor A. the information for which he asks } " 

Professor B. " He failed to pass in my examination." 

Professor C. " He failed in mine." 

Professor D. " He failed in mine." 

Professor E. " He failed in mine." 

President (thoughtfully) " I don't really believe Mr. 
I. could pass a post-mortem examination." 

In 1885-86 Dr. Andrews established an elective in ad- 
vanced political economy. There were about twenty men 
who took the course. They used as a sort of textbook a 
collection of questions by Professor Sumner of Yale, and 
these questions were answered by students — or attempts 
were made to answer them — with discussions. One 
question related to " over-consumption." " That reminds 
me," said Dr. Andrews, after the question had been read 
and the usual pause had ensued, " of a colored boy who 
used to work for me in the army. He offered to bet that 



Memories of Br ow7t 477 

he could eat oysters faster than I could open them. I 
took the bet. Then I seized the chisel and opened an 
oyster. He gulped it down like a flash. I stopped and 
looked at him while he waited for more. 'Well,' said I, 
' why don't you go ahead ? ' It took that score of men 
about two seconds, while they held their breath, to con- 
nect this with the ' over-consumption ' of Professor Sum- 
ner. Then with one accord they 'wooded up.' " The 
facilities for so doing were considerable, as those who re- 
member the old recitation-room in Manning Hall with its 
wooden tables and chairs will recall. 

For the upper-classmen was reserved the high privilege 
of listening day after day to the presidential wisdom. Dr. 
Andrews's course in universal history was interesting, but 
they who answered to the roUcall in his classes on ethics 
and political economy derived benefits wich are engrafted 
into the very fibre of their mental and moral being. There 
was a quiet dignity and power in the atmosphere of the 
classroom but none of that stiffness and formality which 
so often prevent frank discussion between teacher and 
pupil, and dull the edge of youthful interest. He had by 
this time become well acquainted with the habits and 
characteristics of his students and frequently provoked 
general merriment by some personal thrust — never, how- 
ever, using a barb on his lance. Percy Jenks, for example, 
will recall the morning on which he came late to class. 
It was a Monday morning and President Andrews knew 
that Jenks frequently went home on Saturday, returning 
on Monday morning, by a train which was occasionally a 
trifle late, thus causing him to be tardy at recitation. As 
Jenks appeared in the doorway and looked about in some 
confusion at the already occupied seats, President An- 
drews suddenly paused in the middle of a sentence and 
said, " Mr. C, will you kindly bring Mr. Jenks a chair, — 
and, Mr. C, an easy chair, please." 



478 



M, 



em ones 



ofB 



rown 



Perhaps many will think that we ought to avoid sub- 
jects which seem to be under taboo in many Brunonian 
circles where men frequently falter and are silent when 
the reasons for Dr. Andrews's departure from Brown are 
broached. But if any have a right to speak it is they who, 
in the years immediately preceding his resignation, listened 




Van Wickle Gates in Winter 

daily to the very words the publication of which caused 
bitterness and misunderstanding in high places. It would 
be poor judgment to run the risk, merely from the love of 
dissention and controversy, of stirring up an issue now 
dead and yet it would be weak loyalty to Dr. Andrews, 
in a chapter of this sort, to pass in silence, as though 



Memories of Brown 479 

there were some shame in them, the doctrines which no 
amount of pressure could prevent him from teaching. It 
was his duty to teach and he taught what he beheved in. 
Let the over-sensitive then pause here, for we are about 
to indulge in reminiscences of classroom discussions of 
which we can today think with delight just as we found 
pleasure in them in those other days even though the 
bug-a-boos of finance, free coinage of silver and bimetal- 
lism, were served without a poison label to our supposedly 
receptive minds. 

Dr. Andrews had for years advocated for our monetary 
system certain changes, a part of which were later incor- 
porated in the Bryan campaign platform. The subsequent 
defeat of Bryan showed that the majority of the American 
public looked upon these views as vicious and Dr. An- 
drews himself is said later to have announced that, having 
learned that he had been misinformed as to the rapid 
decrease in the gold supply, the chief premiss upon which 
he had built his argument for bimetallism had lost its 
force and he had become convinced of the fallacy of his 
previously held opinions. But while it was yet undecided 
what disposition might be made of these theories at the 
polls and men of capital were trembling lest the Bryanites 
might hurl the country into financial ruin. Dr. Andrews 
was requested to desist from public advertisement of his 
sympathy with the free-silver movement. It was feared 
that his attitude towards these political issues might 
work to the detriment of the college. This is not the 
place to question the righteousness of the demand upon 
Dr. Andrews, which at the very outset, by reason of the 
nature of the man, could result only in his resignation. 
The effect of his teachings upon the college treasury 
can only be judged by those to whom the financial 
welfare of the college had been entrusted ; but they who, 
from personal experience, know the effect of his teachings 



480 Memories of Brown 

upon the student mind and character will testify with one 
accord that misgivings thereat were groundless and anxious 
emotions wasted if such played any part in the delibera- 
tions of the authorities. 

After all, I suppose no one will deny that the chief 
function of a college president is to direct the training of 
the student mind and to build up immature character; 
and as a master workman in the construction of man- 
hood, E. Benjamin Andrews was God's own foreman. 

Striplings that we were, without voice and without in- 
fluence, we could yet look beyond the doctrines to the 
man himself and, though young and impressionable, could 
postpone judgment on the questions which he propounded 
while we were thrilled to the soul by the personality and 
example of the man who dared to be honest with himself 
at the cost of public disapproval. True, he preached free 
silver, but he also preached free trade and single taxation 
as have college professors the world over, and he preached 
a host of other gospels many of which the world is not yet 
ready to put into practice. He was a man born before 
his day and generation ; his voice was that of one crying 
in the wilderness foretelling things which may yet come 
to pass. His students listened with bated breath to pre- 
cepts of which they recognized the ultimate truth and 
then voted, as did their fathers, for practical protection, a 
gold standard and conservative politics. 

I am glad that my pen in its headlong rush to record 
the thronging memories of " Bennie " has neglected till 
the last the most important of all. To his class in ethics 
he expounded principles for the guidance of men on 
their journey through life. Live, burning questions he 
took up with unfaltering grasp and, holding them fear- 
lessly in the fierce white glow of truth, reduced them to 
their most primitive ethical elements. 

He asked no one to accept his way of thinking or of 



Memories of Brown 481 

action, but he branded upon the soul of every man the es- 
sential laws of moral conduct reduced to their last analy- 
sis. 

Take for example his views of falsehood. As a physi- 
cian I have times without number found myself in cir- 
cumstances where it has been necessary to decide instantly 
whether I had the right to tell an untruth, or indeed the 
right to tell the truth, as when asked by a sick wife con- 
cerning the health of her husband still more grievously 
ill ; or again, when questioned by a mother as to the cause 
of a son's disorders. At such times the question as pro- 
pounded by Dr. Andrews, " Is a lie ever justifiable 1 " has 
obtruded itself upon my conscience and, as for many of 
the other questions which he gave to himself to answer, 
I cannot today recall either an unqualified " No " or " Yes." 
All who have had experience upon the witness stand 
have learned that there are many questions which cannot 
be answered by a simple negative or af^rmative. But I 
know that in regard to the white lie as for all else in life 
he taught a broader doctrine than blind adherence to an 
arbitrary verbal formula. For the criterion of judgment 
he looked beyond and underneath the words to the spirit, 
the motive, the moral intent. He gave no such simple 
rule as might permit a man to become, like a calculating 
machine, a mere automatic truth-teller or a mechanism of 
lawful behavior ; he commanded us to develop unselfish- 
ness and to examine our souls for the data upon which 
to base conduct. 

In regard to intemperance as in many other matters he 
pointed his moral with a personal reminiscence of war- 
time experience. Said he : " The excuses given by the 
habitual drinker to mitigate the possible charge of intem- 
perance are insuiftcient and so contradictory as to be al- 
most amusing. Thus, the stoker, working in the intense 
heat of the ship's boiler-room, assures you with all serious- 



482 



Memories of Brown 



ness that in such temperatures no man could long survive 
without his regular drink ; on the other hand, the hack- 
driver, exposed to winter's cold, insists that he would die 
if his body were not warmed with a good stiff brandy or 




The Marcus Aurelius Statue 
Unveiled June 1, 1908 



whiskey. Physiology teaches that alcohol taken while a 
man is subjected to cold merely sends the blood to the 
surface of the body where, though it relieves the person 
of some of his feeling of cold, it becomes still further cooled 
and thus increases the danger of freezing. I have been 
assured that Arctic explorers are careful not to permit 



Memories of Brown 483 

their men to be exposed to alcohol and at the same time 
to extreme cold. And as I look back to war days, I recall 
certain of the men who were accustomed to carry their 
flasks and in times of stress to stimulate their flagging 
energies with frequent tipples. When, however, the real 
hours of suffering came, when heartbreaking marches 
were ordered, or prolonged watches demanded, the tipplers 
fell by the wayside and sank helplessly into the trenches." 

On the chapel steps, that last afternoon of our college 
course, as we gathered to sing our songs once more there 
was more of sadness than of joy in our singing ; for what- 
ever of satisfaction may have been experienced at a long 
task ended, and however inviting the vista of post-gradu- 
ate life, who was there but felt some pain that the parting 
of the ways had been reached so soon and a deep regret 
that in the next march down College Hill we were to 
leave Alma Mater and her rich associations ! But if the 
idle ones who tarried to listen to those old songs could 
have followed the strained, far-away look visible upon so 
many of the seniors' faces, they might have discerned 
arising through the mist of parting tears, a vision — the 
image of a man — treading the old walks, with squared 
shoulders and hands clasped behind his back, clad in a 
gray frock coat, wearing a light colored beaver hat over 
a grave face whose eye and mouth once seen could never 
be forgotton — a face indicative perhaps above all else of 
a man of sorrows, but one in which grief had molded 
sweetness of expression and chiselled lines of highest 
bravery and determination. Leaving Brown caused sad- 
ness ; leaving Bennie brought pain. 

Many of us saw him in the years that followed gradua- 
tion, and at various alumni reunions how we made the 
welkin ring as he rose to address us once more. And how 
we tingled to our very toe-tips when, as we sought to 
grasp his hand, he said " Jones, Brown" — calling each by 



484 Memories of Brown 

name as of old — " I hear very good things of you ; keep it 
up." 

A Brown student, a Brown soldier, a Brown professor, 
a Brown president, a Brown man he was and is to the 
core. Other fields called him and students other than 
those of Brown have known and loved him. We do not 
begrudge them their portion of his life and services nor 
question the sincerity of their loyalty, but we claim him as 
ours by right of blood. A son of Brown, a father to 
Brown, as such and as a brother, too, and comrade we 
knew him. No celebration was complete until we had 
gathered about the president's house and called upon him 
to address us. We cheered him now as " Prexy," now as 
" Bennie," and again with that call whose echo still lin- 
gers and shall ever pulsate in and through the hoary walls 
and elms of Brown : 

"Andrews — Andrews — Andrews. Rah! Rah! Rah! 
Brown ! " 

William McDonald, M. D., i8gs. 



EPILOGUE 

THESE "Memories of Brown "are presented by 
many contributors in order to recall and preserve 
incidents, manners and personalities in the by- 
gone life at Brown. No claim of completeness is made, 
since to almost every reader this book must be only a key 
to unlock the serried cells of closed remembrances and 
to touch with light once more scores of personal experi- 
ences and associations long unthought-of and too many 
and intimate to come within the scope of this volume. If 
it thus proves to be suggestive, if it evokes an involuntary 
smile, if it brightens a passing hour with pleasant retro- 
spect, if it polishes the surface of memory so that the old 
college scenes are again clearly reflected in transforming 
light, then the labor of those who have produced it will 
be amply repaid. 

The effort of a single mind would have resulted in a 
more connected narrative and held to a closer historic se- 
quence, but also might have proved monotonous ; the in- 
terest and piquancy of this attempt to reproduce the past 
has seemed to depend largely on the difference of style 
and the divergence of the angle of view of very many nar- 
rators to whom the Brown campus at one time or another 
has been a home. 

A peculiar charm surrounds the college life of any man 
with a modicum of imagination and fancy. In these 
halcyon days health ministers to the exuberance of youth, 
hope spreads her iridescent wings and ambition seizes the 
hand of honest effort to lead it on and up. Then aca- 
demic freedom gives the first lively sense of personal 



486 



M, 



emories o, 



Bro 



wn 



liberty and responsibility, and the love of a scholarly 
life first dawns upon the passing boy. If there be any 
college man who takes no pleasure in a far backward 
look, let him read these Memories of Brown until he 
makes them his own and believes that all this happened 
to him. Let him live the scenes and tell the tales and 
feel the sensation of enthusiasm and loyalty and unselfish 
and unending friendship here recorded, and be born again 
into the Kingdom of Joy. 

R. P. B. 





From a copyrighted drawing h'j the Woodbuvj-CIaitton C<>.^ JVurces-fer, Jfufi.s: 

Brown University in 1^ 



•I 



N 



D 



X 



Abbott, Samuel W., '58 

The College Water Supply in the 
Fifties, 133, 134 

Junior Burials, 'SS~S9^ 125-132 

John Hay as a Parodist of Em- 
erson, 135, 136 
Alpha Delta Phi 

celebration, 1857, 163 

chapter organized, 74, 75 
" Alma Mater," origin, 185, 186 
Amherst baseball team, 

portrait, 362 
Andrews, Pres. E. Benjamin, 70 

anecdotesof 417, 418,428, 429,472, 

474-477 

and free silver, 478-480 

as teacher of ethics, 480-483 

generosity, 467-469 

interest in athletics, 473, 474 

memory, 463, 464 

personality, 464-467 

popularity with students and 
alumni, 418, 419 

portraits (1870), 249, 474 
Angell, Pres. James B., '49 

When President Angell was a 
Sttident, 83-92 

portraits, 90, 166 
''Angell Cradle'' 

(W. W. Keen, '59), 165, 166 

(John Hay, '58), 167 
Arnold, Hon. Samuel G., '41 

defends fraternities, 192 
" Atalanta," racing shell, 273 
Athenaeum, Providence 

view, 136 

Bailey, Prof. William W., '64 
In Brown's Centennial Year, 

202-206 
The Old Textbook Burials, 207, 

208 
portrait, 203 
Bancroft, Prof. Timothy W., '59 
anecdotes of, 263, 264, 339, 390, 

391, 415, 416, 433 
portrait, 391 
Banjo Club, 1888 

portrait, 434 
Barker, Isaac B. 

mstructor, 259, 260 
Barrows, Arthur C, '85 

'• Something Doing'' in the Eight- 
ies, 406-408 



Bartlett, William P., '78 

Marrying before Graduation, 

339> 340 

Barton, Ira M., '19 
Horace Mann, 18 ig, 41, 42 

Baseball 

championship team in '79, 363 
games with Harvard, 233, 234, 

363 
game with Princeton, 453 
games with Yale, 364, 365 
grounds, situation, 361, 367 
instituted at Brown, 232 
played on middle campus, 251, 

252, 361 . ^ 

'varsity team, '79, portrait, 364 

'varsity team, '80, portrait, 362 
Bates, Clarence S. 

principal in duel, 140-150 
" Beanery," 352 
Bell and Bonfire (A. T. Swift, '89) 

420-423 
Bell rmgmg, 377-381, 421-423 
Bicknell, Thomas W., '60 

Initiatio?i into the "■ Phils," 168, 
169 
Bicycle Club, 1887 

portrait, 432 
Blake, Prof. Eli W., h. '95 

interest in physics, 330, 331 

portrait, 295 
Blizzard of 1888, 427 
Board, cost of, 38 
Boarding clubs, 313, 314 
Boardman, George D., '52 

Recollections of President Way- 
land, 94, 95 
Boating at Brown (G. T. Brown, '73) 

272-284 
Boathouse, old, view, 273 

university, view, 275 
Boating Association, 274, 275 
Boise, Prof. James R., '40, 84 
Bonfires, 341-347, 406-408 

forbidden by Pres. Robinson, 344 

wagon burning, 373-377, 378, 379, 
426 
Bonnet, Tale of the (W. R. Perce, 

'65,) 237-244^ ^ ., . 

Bowen, Horatio G., 1797, Librarian 

portrait, 52 
Bowen, William M. P., '84 

classroom memories, 392 
Bradley, Charles S., '38, 73 



488 



Memories of Brown 



Bronson, Frank M., '84 

Confessiojts of a Sahitatoiian, 
401-403 
Brown, George T., '73 

Boating at Brown, 272-284 
Brown, John Carter 

portrait, 159 
Brown, John Nicholas, '85 

portrait, 164 
Brown, Robert P., '71 

The Old College Well 256-258 

The Barker Hoax and a Visit 
from Two Great Generals, 259, 
260 

The Great American Traveller, 
261, 262 

Two Bancroft Stories, 263, 264 

The Glorious Class of 18^1,26^-2 7 1 
Brown, William L., '36 

Meinories of 1832-36, 57-60 
Brown, Col. W. W. 

Residence on Front Campus, 202, 
203 
Bfvwn at the Close of the Fifties 

(W. W. Keen, '59 ), 160-165 
"Brown Paper," 185, 186 
Brown Union 

see Rockefeller Hall 
Brunonia Hall, view, 447 
Burges, Tristam, 1796, 23 

portrait, 22 
Burgess, Isaac B., '83 

Pres. Robinso7i''s Terse Fhilosohpy 

.385-389 
Burials 
odes, 128, 129, 131, 132 
programmes, facsimile, 127, 130 
Whately and Spalding, 207, 208, 
126-130 
Burnside, Gen. Ambrose E., h. '61 
visits Brown, 1864, 183, '68, 260 
Burrage, Henry S., '61 

The Philennenians and the 

United Brothers, 170-174 
The College During the Civil 
War, 175-184 
Burrill, James, Jr., 1788, 72 

" Caduceus " issued, 253 
Cady, Joseph, Steward, 38, 53 

portrait, 54 
Caesar Augustus, statue, view, 334 
Camera Club, 440-442 
Campus 

in 1819, 38 

in 1853, 114 



Back, view (1870), 254 

Front, view, 311, 374, 382, 388, 438 
residence on, 202, 203 

Middle, elm trees removed, 366, 
view, 220, i86y, 268, 18'jo, 255, 
igo8, 305,315,376 
Caswell, Prof. Alexis, '22 

anecdotes of, 1S7, 216, 217 

hollow square, 235, 236 

personality ot, 86, 121, 122,225-227 

portrait, 122, 236 
Caswell Hall, view, 447 
Catholicism, 271 
Centennial, 1864, 182, 183 
Chace, Prof. George I., '30 

memories of, 86, loo, 123 

portrait, 212 
Chairs 

disappearance from chapel, 330 
Chapel 

attendance compulsory for faculty 
and students, 328 

in University Hall, 47, 48 

in Manning Hall, 328, 329 
interior, view, i8'/4, 302 
Chase, Justice Salmon P. 

at centennial, 182, 183 
Chemical Laboratory 

in R. I. Hall, 188 
Church attendance 

compulsory, 97 
Civil War 

college during, 175-184 
Clarke, Benjamin F., '63 

The Passing of the Ancient Well- 
Curb, 200, 201 

anecdotes of, 339, 414, 415 

portrait, 462 
Class of 

1788, 72 

1835. 58 

186 1, expelled, 194-199 

iSyo, 248, baseball team, portrait, 

251 
187 1, 265-271 

1878, 335-337 

1879, 350-355 
1881, portrait, 365 
i8gi, portrait, 441 

Classroom Memories, 390-396 
Cloistered Life of the Early Forties 

(Albert Harkness, '42), 68 |^ ' 
College and Town in 18 ig (S. B. 

Shaw, '19) 38,39 
College Buildings in Other Days 

(Anthony McCabe), 307-333 



Memories of Brown 



489 



College Buildings In OtJie^' Days 
— Continued 
in '60, 202 
in '70, 249 
College During the Civil War (H. 

S. Burrage, '61), 175-184 
College Hill, view, 206 
College Pranks i)i the Early 
Twenties (G. B. Peck, '64), 
46-48 
College Street in 1873 

view, 297 
Commencement in the Olden Time, 

9-19 
Commencement 
conferring of degrees, 16 
date of, 162 
dinner, 16, 205 
a general festival, 9, 10 
illmiiination at, 11 
"Literary Cadet" on, 49-52 
military escort at, 13, 14 
parts, allotment of, 25-29 
procession, 69 
programme, 14, 15 
revelry and disorder at, 51, 52 
Commons Hall, 91, 30S 
Comstock, Richard B., '76 

When Dr. Robinson Came to 
Brown, 301-303 
Congdon, Charles T., h. '79 
In the Days of Wayland and 
Elton, 61-67 
Cow 
in Hope College,_37o-373 
Pres. Wayland's in U. H., 57 
Cox, Samuel S. (" Sunset"), '46 

reminiscences of, 77-82 
Crew, ist at Brown, 272, 273 
1S71 (view), 277 
1873, personnel, 280 
class crew, 1874 (view), 281 
class crew, 1873 (view), 279 
Curriculum, 63 

Curtis, George William, h. '54 
Memories of Brown, 69-76 
oration at centennial, 183 
Cutler. Edward H., '57 

Garb and Customs of Half a Cen- 
tury Ago, 1 1 3-1 16 

Davis, Prof. Nathaniel F., '70, 345 

Debating, 89, 90 

Degrees, 221, 222 

" Deluge " The, 31S, 319 

Denison, John L., h. '55 



Painting the Presidenfs Horse, 
108-110 
De Wolf, James A., '61 

The Origin of"- Alma Mater,'' 185, 
186 
Dexter, Andrew, Jr., 1798 
correspondence with William E. 
Green, 23, 24 
Dexter, Edwin G., '91 
Hope College Twenty Years Ago, 

440-443. 
Dexter Training Ground 

class contests at, 367 
Diman, Prof. J. Lewis, '51 

anecdotes of, 348, 349 

Catholicism of, 271 

memories of, 285-287 

portrait, 286, 299 
Disagreement between president 
and students, 32-34, 353-355 

newspaper notoriety, 353, 354 
Discipline, 61, 62 
Dormitories, life in, 31, 32 

sanitary conditions in, 203, 204, 
.267, 323 

visited by faculty, 65, 66 
Douglas, Rev. William, '39, Regis- 
trar 

memories of, 261, 262, 29S-300 

portrait, 230 

quarters in U. H., 316 
Dress in the fifties, 113 
Ducking, 103 
Duel, The 

cause of, 140, 141 

interference of Rev. L. W. Ban- 
croft in, 141, 142 

investigation by Mass. authori- 
ties, 145-149 

publicity in press, 144, 145 
Duncan, Samuel, '60 

smoked out, 137-139 
Dunn, Prof. Robinson P. ,'43 

memories of, 122, 227 

portrait, 118 
Dunwell, James P., '34 

The " Tallow Candle Illumina- 
tion;' 55, 56 
Dyer, Gov. Elisha, h. '98, 181 



East Side in 1819, 38, 39 
Eaton, Amasa M., '61 
Random Recollections of 1861, 
187-189 
Elective Card, Bogus, 397-400 



490 



Memories of Brown 



Elective system introduced, 115, 

116 
Elliott, Lemuel H., Registrar 

portrait, 103 

memories of, 308 
Elton, Prof. Romeo, '13 

memories, 64-66 

"pickaback," 93 
Ely, Mrs. Susan B. 

Essay Biirjting in i8ji, 53, 54 
Engineering building 

(view), 459 
Ei-say Burning in i8ji 

(Mrs. Susan B. Ely), 53, 54 
Everett, Edward, visit to Brown, 

loi, 163 
Examinations 

entrance, 293, 294 

honor system in, 99, 418 

oral, 269 
Exhibitions in the Old Town 
House, 35-37 

see Junior exhibitions 
Expenses, college, in 1788, 72 

Faculty 

in 1845, 83-92 

in the joV, 117-120, 121-124, 160- 
162 

in the do'j, 209-220, 221-230 

in i8yo, 248-249, 294-297 

see also names of professors 
Federal Adelphi, at commence- 
ment, 18 
Faunce, Pres. W. H. P., '80 

Reminiscences, 356-359 

Ro77iance Department under 
Gates, 360 

portrait, 358 
Ferguson, Robert H. '84 

Classroom memories, 392, 393 
Eire7He7t, Eight with, i8gg, 446-453 
First Baptist meeting-house 

view (1870), 252 

view, 322 
Flag Raising, 1861, 177, 178 
Football, interclass, 90, 232, 367, 

437-439 
Foster, William E., '73 

Th7'ee l7/i7/i07'tals, 285-291 
Fourth of July celebration, 1819, 

41,42 
Fraternities, 252, 435.436 

Gammell, Prof. William, '31 
memories of, 85, 86, 123 



portrait, 222 
Garb and Custo77is of Half a Ce7i- 
tu7y Ago (E. H. Cutler, '57), 
113-116 
Gates, Charles H., Instructor, 360 
Gates, The John Nicholas Brown, 

view, 466 
Gordon, Adoniram J., '60, 137-139 
Governors, New England, at Com- 
mencement, 181, 182 
Granger, William Smith, '54 
Stude77t Pranks i7i the Fifties, 
102-106 
Greek, at morning prayers, 46, 47 
Green, John, Jr., correspondence 
with William E. Green, 22, 23, 
29, 30 
Green, Meltiah, correspondence 

with William E. Green, 29 
Grfeen, Theodore F., '87 
Life at R. I. College i7i the Eigh- 
tee7ith Ce7ttury, 20-34 
Green, Timothy, letter to William 

E. Green, 22 
Green, William E., 1798 
correspondence with 
Andrew Dexter, Jr., 23, 24 
John Green, Jr., 22, 23, 29, 30 
Meltiah Green, 29 
Timothy Green, 22 
Moses Miller, Jr., 31-34 
James Tallmadge, 24, 25-28, 31 
John Whipple, 24, 25 
R. H. Williams, 28, 29 
Greene, Albert G., 1820 

portrait, 39 
Greene, Prof. George W., h. '33 

memories of, 84, 85 
Greene, Jerome B., '90 

Rushes, Fi7'es a7td Signs, 424-429 
Greene, Prof. Samuel S., '37 
anecdotes of, 218, 219, 296 
interest in athletics, 366, 367 
portrait, 117 
Greene, Warren E., '98 
Recollectio7is of a " Super^'' 454- 
462 
Guild, Reuben A., '47, Librarian 
memories of 124, 416, 417 
portrait, 416 
Gymnasium, 361-363 

Hackett, Prof. Horatio B., 63, 64 
Harkness, Prof. Albert, '42 

The Cloistered Life of the Early 
Forties, 68 



M, 



emortes o, 



Bro 



wn 



491 



Harkness, Prof. Albert, '42 — Con- 
tinued 

anecdotes of, 209, 414 

as a teacher, 223, 224 

portrait, 412 
Harvard University 

defeated in baseball 79, 363, 364 

in intercollegiate races, 272-284 
Hay, John, '58 

7^1? Angell Cradle^ 167 

as a parodist of Emerson, 135, 

136 

centennial ode, 206 

Lincoln's inaugural, 176 

reminiscences of, 1 51-155 

portraits, 151, 153 
Hazing, 191, 325, 326 

reform in methods of, 194, 195 
High Old Times at Coiiiuienceinent^ 

49-52 
Hill, Prof. Nathaniel P., '56 

portrait. 119, 155 
Hobigand, Theodore M., Instructor 

portrait, 226 
Holmes, Oliver Wendell 

reads poem at Brown, 71, 72 
Hope College 

anecdotes of, 440-443 

gas light association, 254, 255 

renovated, 326, 327 

sanitary conditions in, 250, 251, 

.323-327 
view, 250, 317 
Hoppin, William W., '61 
Memories Light and Tender, 190- 

193 
Horse, Pres. Messer's, pamted, 48 

Pres.Wayland's, painted, 108-110 
Howe, Samuel Gridley, 182 1 

characteristics, 43, 44 

personality, 45 

Illumination, candle, 11, 55, 56 
Initiation into the " Phils " 

(T. W. Bicknell, '60), 168, 169 

Jenks, Prof. John W. P., '38 

memories of, 332, 333 

portrait, 394 
Jewett, Prof. Charles C, '35 

portrait, 84 
John, the appleman, 300 

portrait, 383 
Joslin, William C, '76 

Pres. Robinson on the Rush Line^ 
304, 305 



Judson, Elnathan, '59, i7\2-i74 
Junior Burials^ 1^53-59 

(S. W. Abbott, '58), 125-132 
Junior exhibitions, 253, 270 
mock programmes, 270, 271 

Keen, William W., '59 
Brown at the Close of the Fifties, 

160-164 
The Angell Cradle, 165, 166 
Kneass, Harry W., second in duel, 
140-150 

Ladd Observatory 

(view), 455 
Latin 

salutatory address in, 15, 51, 205, 
401-403 
" Lauriger Horatius " 

anecdote, 305 
Laws, Martin L., '64 

anecdote of, 217, 218 
Lee's Surrender 

celebration, 183 
Leonard, Rev. David, 1792, 151 
" Liber Brunensis," first published. 

252 
Library, John Carter Brown, 

view, 338, 451, 466 
Library, University, 

description of, 297, 298 

in Manning Hall, 160 

open shelves in, 124 

view of, in Manning Hall, 320 
Lincoln, Abraham 

assassination of, 183 

Pres. Wayland's address on, 1S3, 
184 

visits Providence, 188 
Lincoln, Prof. John L., '36 

anecdotes of, 83, 100, loi, 191, 
192, 224, 225, 389, 390, 413, 414 

as a teacher, 123, 124, 289-291 

portrait, 123, 290 
Lincoln Field, 366, 367 
Literary discussion 

interest in, 91 
Lockup, Sayles Hall, 367-369 

poem on, 369, 370 
Lothrop, George V. N., '38, 73 
Lyman Gymnasium 

view, 470 

McCabe, Anthony 
Anecdotes of the Family in Dr. 
Robinson's Time, 409-419 



492 



Memories of Brown 



McCabe, Anthony — Continued 
Campus Events in the Eighties^ 

366-384 _ 
College Butlditigs in Other Days, 

307-333 

portrait, 309 
McDonald, William, '95 

President Andrews as seen by the 
Brown Meii of his Time, 463- 
484 
Magill, Edward H., '52 

Memories of Brown, g6-ioi 

portrait, 97 
Mann, Horace, '19 

reminiscences of, 41, 42 

statue, view, 40 
Manning, Prof. Henry P., '83 

classroom memories, 390 
Manning, Pres. James 

portrait, 17 
Manning Hall 

3?7-33o 

view, 214, 386 
Marcus Aurelius, statue 

portrait, 482 
Marine Artillery, 178, 237 
Marjying before Gradiiation (W. 

P. Bardett, '78) 

339-340 
Marsh, Edward S., '79 

Seventy -nine's Page of History, 
350-355 
Marston Field House, 

view, 405 
Maxcy, Pres. Jonathan, 1787 

anecdotes of, 24, 25 

portrait, 19 

treaty of amity, 29, 30 
Messer, Pres. Asa, 1790 

memories of, 29, 70, 71, 

portrait, 47 
Metcalf, Robert B., '70 

The Water Procession, 245-247 
Miller, Moses, Jr., 1800 

correspondence with William E. 
Green, 31-34 
Munro, Walter L., '79 

Devolution of the Bonfire, 341- 

347 

Dimanesqtte, 34S, 349 

Preside fit Robinson and the Vale- 
dictorian of'yj, 306 
Munro, Wilfred H., '70 

In the Days of Seventy, 248-255 

Nelson, Aaron H., '58 



Smoking out in 18^6, 137-139 
The Duel, 140-150 
Second in duel, 140 

Ode, Centennial 

205 
Olney, Richard, '56 

162 
"Oudens" 

252 

Pabodie, Williapi H., '55 
A Flagrant Failiftg, 107 

Packard, Prof. Alpheus S. 
431, 432 

Painting the President's Horse (J. 
L. Denison, '55), 108-110 

Painting numerals 

3S1-383 
Palmer, Henry R., '90 

Brown in the Later Eighties, 430- 
436 

How '84 Worried a Professor, 
404, 405 
" Pandemonium " 

103, 104 
Parsons, Prof. Charles W., h. '48 

portrait, 228 
Payne, Abraham, '40 

73. 74 
Peck, George B., '64 

College Pranks in the Early 
Twenties, 46-48 

77^1? F^acultyin the Sixties, 209-220 
Peirce, Prof. John, '56 

portrait, 224 
Pendleton, Charles H., '78 

Brilliant Sevetity -eight, 335-337 
Perce, Warren R., '65 

The Beginnings of Baseball at 
Brown, 232-234 

The Hollow Square, 235, 236 

The Tale of the Bonnet, 237-244 
Perry, Marsden J. 

restoration of U. H., 321 
Philermenian Society 

electioneering, 89, 90 

initiation into, 168, 169, 217, 218 

"rebellion," 105, 106 

rivalry with United Brothers, 
170-174 
Porter, Prof. John 

105 
Portraits in R. I. Hall 

331 



Mi 



em ones o 



of Bro 



wn 



493 



Pratt, Daniel 

261, 262 
President's House 

view (1800), 15 
Princeton University 

defeated by Brown in baseball, 

453 
Prospect Street, in 1S19, 39 

view, 402 
Providence 

view in (1809), 12 

view in (1820), 48 

view from U. H., 303 

view fromnorth, (1849), 87 

India Point, view, (1837), 64 
Providence River 

view, (1873), 293 
Pump, college 

portrait, 443 
Putnam Phalanx 

visit to Providence, 189 

Race, 3d intercollegiate, Brown in 

272-274 
Randall, Prof. Otis E., '84 

classroom memories, 393-395 
Recitation 

method of, 89, 97, 98 
Reeves, John 

3S3 . 

portrait, 384 
Regiment, First R. I., 17S, 179 

Tenth R. I., 181 
Renaud, Alphonse, Instructor 

209-211, 233 
"Revolution," March 13, 1800, 32- 

34 
Rhode Island College tn the i8th 

Cenhiry (T. F. Green, '87), 20-34 
Rhode Island Hall 

202 
Richmond, J. Lee, '80 

Beating Harvard and Yale in 
■79, 361-365 
Riding a Professor ''^Pickaback,'''' 

(W. B. Weeden, h. '75), 93 
Robinson, Pres. Ezekiel G., '38 

anecdotes of, 302, 303, 304, 306, 

359. 387-389> 39°. 39^, 410-413 
baccalaureate sermon, 409 
ideas on discipline, 301,302 
memories, 287-289 
philosophy. 385-387 
portrait, 288 
Rockefeller Hall 
view, 428 



Rogers, Rev. William, 1769 

portrait, 21 
Rooms 

visited by professors, 105 
Rushes, class 

yg-'So rush, 350-352 

''8g-go rush, 424-426 

Pres. Robinson in, 425, 426, 304, 

305 
Rushes, Fires and Signs (J. B. 
Greene, '90), 424-429 



Salary of Professors 

116 
Salutatory in Latin 

401-403 
Sayles Gymnasium (Women's Col- 
lege) 
view, 436 
Sayles Memorial Hall 

lockup, 367-370 

view, 380, 451, 470 
Sears, Pres. Barnas, '25 

historical discourse at centennial 
205 

memories of, 121, 228-230 

portrait, 210 
Secret Societies 

192 
Seekonk River 

272 
Servants, college 

1 88 1, view, 340 

1890, view, 347 
" Seventeen-forty-and-a-half " (rac- 
ing shell) 
276, 277 
Shaw, Samuel B., 1819 

College and Town in i8ig 

38, 39 
Sheridan, Gen. Philip H. 

visits Brown, 260 
Signs removed, 427, 428 
Slater Hall 

view 313, 399 
Slavery, attitude towards 

59, 60 
Smith, Goldwin, h. '64 

at centennial, 182, 205 
''Smoking Out'' in 1856 (A. H. 

Nelson, '58), 137-139 
Societies 

57, 58 
Sprague, Gov. William, h. '61 
interest in rowing, 278 



494 



Memories of Brown 



Sprague Hall 

location, 314 

blown up, 357 
Square, The Hollow (W. R. Perce, 

'65) 

235) 236 
Stewart, William H. 

Story of Dr. lVayland''s Cow, 
III, 112 
Stiness, John H., '61 

A Class Expelled, 194-199 
Stone, William L., '58 

John Hay, i8j8, 1 51-155 

Pres. Wayland as Seen by His 
Nephew, 156-159 
" Student Pranks in the Fifties " 

(W. S. Granger, '54), 102-106 
Student life 

32-34, 68, 269 
" Suping" 

454-462 
Swift, Augustus T., '89' 

Bell and Bonfire, 420-423 



" Taconey " 

237 
Tallmadge, James, 1798 

correspondence with W. E. 
Green, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31 
The " Tallow Candle Illumination " 

(J. P. D unwell, '34), 55, 56 
Tetlow, John, '64 

More about the Facility in the 
Sixties 221-230 
Theatre 

attendance forbidden, 104, 105 
Thayer, Gen. John M., '41 

182 
Thompson, Harry L., '96 

A Conflict of Jurisdictions, 444, 445 
Three Inunortals (W. E. Foster, 

'73), 285-291 
Thurber, Samuel, '58 

More about the Faculty in the 
Fifties, 1 21-124 
Ticknor, Howard M., Instructor 

433-435 
Town House 

view, 36 
Transparencies 

at burials, 132 
"Traveller, Great American" 

see Pratt, Daniel 
" Treaty of Amity," 1798 

29) 30 



Trees 
class, 204 

United Brothers Society 

electioneering, 89 

initiation into, 168, 169 

rivals of the Philermenian So- 
ciety, 170-174 
University Cadets 

179, 180, 238 
University Grammar School 

view, 378 
University Hall 

arrangement of rooms, 320, 321 

bomb in, 315, 316 

classroom furniture, 309, 310 

corridors in, 115 

odor and noise in, 316-318 

renovation, '^j, 321 

restoration, '05, 321 

sketch of, 307-322 

students' rooms, 310-313 

view, 1800, 15; i8'/o, 253; igo8, 

3'3 
water supply, 313 
Upton, Charles R., '84 

The Bogus Elective Card, 397, 400 

Van Wickle Gates 
view, 372 

in winter, 478 

Watch House 

I go 
Water Procession 

245-247 
Water Supply, College in the Fifties 

(S. W. Abbott, '58), 133, 134 
Wayland, Pres. Francis 

as an orator, 157-159, 163, 164 

as seen by his nephew (W. L. 
Stone), 156-159 

bust hung in effigy, 106 

characteristics, 107 

discipline, 61-63 

elective system, 115, 116 

humor, 93, 157 

memories of, 86, 87, 94, 95, 96-99 

personal habits, 107, 114 

portrait, 57, 62 

severity, 117, 156, 157 
Wayland, Rev. Heman L., '49, 88 
Weeden, William B., h. '75 

Ridi}igaProfesso7-^^Pickaback,"()'}, 
Well-curb 



I 



Me. 



mortes o, 



B 



rown 



495 



Wells, college 

1 33. 1 34, 245-246, 249, 2 50, 256-2 58, 
300 

South well, view, 257 
Wheaton, Henry, 1802 

portrait, 150 
Wheeler, Benjamin I., '75 

Fi7'st hnpressioiis of Brown, 292- 
300 
Whipple, Col. John 

correspondence with W.E. Green, 
24, 25 
Wickett, Richard K., '90 

classroom memories, 395 
Williams, Prof. Alonzo, '70 

anecdote, 395, 396 

portrait, 396 



Williams, Charles P., '58 

in duel, 140 
Williams, James A., '90 

The Football Rush, 437-439 

Classroom memories, 395,396 
Williams, Rodolphus H., 1798 

correspondence with William E. 
Green, 28, 29 
Wilson Hall 

view, 451 

Yale University 
defeated by Brown in baseball, 

364, 365 
commencement compared with 
Brown's 
31 





















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